AN ACT CONCERNING DRIVER EDUCATION AND STUDENT SAFETY.

Senate
sSB235 / File No. 452 1

General Assembly File No. 452
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 235

Senate, April 7, 2026

The Committee on Transportation reported through SEN.
COHEN of the 12th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the
part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING DRIVER EDUCATION AND STUDENT
SAFETY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 14 -78 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) A drivers' school licensee shall permit a student to request that 3
such student's instructor be of a certain gender at the time of enrolling 4
in such licensee's behind -the-wheel instruction of a driver education 5
program and if such licensee cannot accommodate such request at the 6
time of any such instruction, such licensee shall allow the student to 7
reschedule such instruction without charging such student an 8
additional fee or penalty. 9
(b) Not later than January 1, 2027, if a driver's school licensee 10
maintains an Internet web site for its business, a drivers' school licensee 11
shall prominently post on such web site information indicating whether 12
or not such licensee has undertaken the following safety measures: (1) 13
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The instructors employed by such licensee have successfully completed 14
proficiency testing as administered by the Department of Motor 15
Vehicles, (2) such instructors receive annual training or continuing 16
education, (3) such licensee utilizes an electronical monitoring system, 17
such as a global positioning system, to ensure the location of a student 18
is ascertainable during the provision of any behind -the-wheel 19
instruction, (4) such licensee utilizes an audio or video monitoring 20
system, such as a dashboard camera, inside or outside the motor vehicle 21
to ensure the safety of a student during the provision of any such 22
instruction, and (5) the vehicles used by such licensee to provide such 23
instruction have passed the annual inspection by the Department of 24
Motor Vehicles. 25
(c) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the 26
provisions of chapter 54, regarding the conduct of drivers' schools and 27
instructor license requirements. Such regulations shall (1) establish the 28
conduct of drivers' schools, including, but not limited to, (A) 29
requirements as to the inspection of the vehicles used by the drivers' 30
schools in the conduct of their business, (B) instructional standards and 31
procedures, including instruction of not less than fifteen minutes 32
concerning the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle under 33
subsection (b) of section 14 -223 and the penalty for a violation of the 34
provisions of said subsection, instruction concerning highway work 35
zone safety and the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle 36
under section 14 -212d, [and] instruction concerning ways to reduce 37
incidents of operators driving in the wrong direction and actions to take 38
when an operator encounters a motor vehicle being operated in the 39
wrong direction and behind -the-wheel instruction and practice 40
concerning how to stop in a safe location off the traveled portion of the 41
highway and respond to a traffic stop by a law enforcement officer , (C) 42
the administration of a test at the conclusion of each class, (D) the 43
posting of rates charged for instruction, and (E) the general form in 44
which records concerning persons under instruction and those who 45
have completed their course of instruction shall be kept and, when 46
required, the method of transmission to the commissioner, (2) except as 47
required pursuant to section 14 -36j, permit a class or classroom 48
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instruction to be offered in person in a congregate setting, through 49
distance learning or through a combination of both in -person and 50
distance learning, provided such distance learning has interactive 51
components such as mandatory interactions, participation or testing, 52
and (3) establish the requirements for a person to receive a license as an 53
instructor in accordance with section 14-73. 54
(d) On and after October 1, 2010, the commissioner shall not issue a 55
license that is limited to classroom instruction. Any person who was 56
issued such limited license prior to October 1, 2010, may maintain and 57
renew such license. 58
Sec. 2. Section 14 -36f of the general statutes is repealed and the 59
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 60
The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall adopt regulations, in 61
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, governing the 62
establishment, conduct and scope of driver education programs in 63
secondary schools of this state, subject to the requirements of section 14-64
36e. Such regulations shall (1) permit any local or regional board of 65
education or private secondary school to contract with a licensed 66
drivers' school approved by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles for the 67
behind-the-wheel instruction of such driver education program and 68
instruction therein may be given by such school's driving instructors 69
who are licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, (2) require that 70
the classroom instruction of any such driver education program include 71
(A) a discussion concerning highway work zone safety and the 72
responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle under section 14-212d, 73
and (B) a discussion concerning ways to reduce incidents of operators 74
driving in the wrong direction and actions to take when an operator 75
encounters a motor vehicle being operated in the wrong direction, [and] 76
(3) except for instruction offered pursuant to section 14 -36j, permit a 77
class or classroom instruction to be offered in person in a congregate 78
setting, through distance learning or through a combination of both in -79
person and distance learning, provided such distance learning has 80
interactive components such as mandatory interactions, participation or 81
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testing, and (4) require that the behind-the-wheel instruction of any such 82
driver education program include instruction and practice regarding 83
how to stop in a safe location off the traveled portion of the highway 84
and respond to a traffic stop by a law enforcement officer. 85
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 14-78
Sec. 2 October 1, 2026 14-36f

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 1(a), "the gender of such student's instructor" was changed to
"that such student's instructor be of a certain gender " for clarity, in
Section 1(b), " concerning various safety measures undertaken by such
licensee. Such safety measures shall include, but need not be limited to,
whether" was changed to " indicating whether or not such licensee has
undertaken the following safety measures:" for clarity, in Section 1(b)(1),
"department" was changed to " Department of Motor Vehicles " for
clarity, in Section 1(b)(3), "such" was changed to "behind-the-wheel" for
consistency, and in Section 1(b)(5), "on-the-road" was changed to "such"
for consistency.

TRA Joint Favorable Subst.

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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
Motor Vehicle Dept. TF - Potential
Revenue Gain
Minimal Minimal
Note: TF=Transportation Fund
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill changes the requirements that driving schools must meet,
resulting in potential minimal revenue gain from any new penalties
imposed. Under existing law, the Department of Motor Vehicles may
impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for driving school violations.
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number of violations.

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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 235

AN ACT CONCERNING DRIVER EDUCATION AND STUDENT
SAFETY.

SUMMARY
The bill makes several changes related to driving schools, driver’s
education programs, and behind-the-wheel training.
The bill requires commercial driving schools to allow students to
request an instructor of a certain gender when they enroll in the behind-
the-wheel instruction component of a driver education program. If the
driving school cannot accommodate a student’s request at any time
during the instruction, it must allow the student to reschedule without
charging an additional fee or penalty.
Under the bill, commercial driving schools must, by January 1, 2027,
prominently post on their websites (if they have one) information on
whether or not the school has implemented these safety measures:
1. their instructors have completed Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV)-administered proficiency testing;
2. their instructors receive annual training or continuing education;
3. the school uses electronic monitoring systems, such as GPS, to
track a student’s location during behind-the-wheel instruction;
4. the school uses an audio or video monitoring system, such as a
dash camera, inside or outside of the vehicle to ensure a student’s
safety; and
5. the vehicles the school uses for behind-the-wheel instruction are
annually inspected by DMV.
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Lastly, the bill specifies that the behind -the-wheel instruction
component of a driver’s education program must include practicing
how to pull off the road in a safe location and respond to a police
officer’s traffic stop. This requirement applies to driver’s education
programs offered by commercial driving schools, local or regional
boards of education, or private secondary schools.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Transportation Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 36 Nay 0 (03/16/2026)