SB 235 — AN ACT CONCERNING DRIVER EDUCATION AND STUDENT SAFETY.

Senate General Assembly RaisedFile Bill No.

235452 February Session, 2026 LCOSubstitute Senate Bill No.

1512235 ReferredSenate, toApril 7, 2026 The Committee on TRANSPORTATIONTransportation Introducedreported by:through SEN.

(TRA)COHEN ANof ACTthe CONCERNING12th DRIVERDist., EDUCATIONChairperson ANDof STUDENTthe SAFETY.Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING DRIVER EDUCATION AND STUDENT SAFETY.

(a) A drivers' school licensee shall permit a student to chooserequest thethat gender of such student's instructor priorbe to the commencement of behind-the-wheela instruction,certain exceptgender ifat onlythe onetime gender of instructorsenrolling isin availablesuch tolicensee's providebehind-the-wheel such instruction atof thea drivers'driver school,education program and if such licensee shallcannot notifyaccommodate asuch prospectiverequest studentat of the availabilitytime of onlyany onesuch genderinstruction, ofsuch instructorslicensee priorshall allow the student to reschedule such prospectiveinstruction studentwithout enrollingcharging insuch astudent coursean ofadditional behind-the-wheelfee instruction.or penalty.

(b) Not later than OctoberJanuary 1, 2027, if a drivers'driver's school licensee shallmaintains equipan eachInternet vehicleweb usedsite tofor provideits behind-the-wheelbusiness, instruction with an(1) electronicmonitoring system,such as a globalpositioningdrivers' system,school tolicensee ensureshall theprominently locationpost ofon asuch studentweb issite ascertainableinformation duringindicating awhether course of behind-the-wheel instruction, and (2) an audio or videonot monitoringsuch systemlicensee tohas ensureundertaken the following safety ofmeasures: a student during such instruction.

LCO(1) sSB235 / File No.

1512452 1 ofsSB235 4File RaisedNo. Bill No.235 (c) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, regarding the conduct of drivers' schools and instructor license requirements.

Such452 regulationsThe shallinstructors (1)employed establishby thesuch conductlicensee ofhave drivers'successfully schools,completed including,proficiency buttesting not limited to, (A) requirements as toadministered the inspection of the vehicles used by the drivers'Department schools in the conduct of theirMotor business,Vehicles, (B)(2) instructionalsuch standardsinstructors andreceive procedures,annual includingtraining instructionor ofcontinuing noteducation, less(3) thansuch fifteenlicensee minutesutilizes concerning the responsibilities of an operatorelectronical ofmonitoring asystem, motorsuch vehicleas under subsection (b) of section 14-223 and the penalty for a violationglobal ofpositioning thesystem, provisionsto ofensure said subsection, instruction concerning highway work zone safety and the responsibilitieslocation of an operator of a motorstudent vehicleis underascertainable sectionduring 14-212d,the [and]provision instruction concerning ways to reduce incidents of operatorsany drivingbehind-the-wheel ininstruction, the(4) wrongsuch directionlicensee andutilizes actions to take when an operatoraudio encountersor avideo motormonitoring vehiclesystem, beingsuch operatedas in the wrong direction, and behind-the-wheel instruction and practice concerning how to stop in a safedashboard locationcamera, offinside theor traveledoutside portion of the highwaymotor andvehicle respond to aensure traffic stop by a law enforcement officer, (C) the administrationsafety of a teststudent atduring the conclusionprovision of eachany class,such (D) the posting of rates charged for instruction, and (E)(5) the generalvehicles formused inby whichsuch recordslicensee concerningto personsprovide undersuch instruction and those who have completedpassed their course of instruction shall be kept and, when required, the methodannual ofinspection transmissionby to the commissioner,Department (2) except as required pursuant to section 14-36j, permit a class or classroom instruction to be offered in person in a congregate setting, through distance learning or through a combination of bothMotor in-personVehicles. and distance learning, provided such distance learning has interactive components such as mandatory interactions, participation or testing, and (3) establish the requirements for a person to receive a license as an instructor in accordance with section 14-73.

(c) The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, regarding the conduct of drivers' schools and instructor license requirements.

Such regulations shall (1) establish the conduct of drivers' schools, including, but not limited to, (A) requirements as to the inspection of the vehicles used by the drivers' schools in the conduct of their business, (B) instructional standards and procedures, including instruction of not less than fifteen minutes concerning the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle under subsection (b) of section 14-223 and the penalty for a violation of the provisions of said subsection, instruction concerning highway work zone safety and the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle under section 14-212d, [and] instruction concerning ways to reduce incidents of operators driving in the wrong direction and actions to take when an operator encounters a motor vehicle being operated in the wrong direction and behind-the-wheel instruction and practice concerning how to stop in a safe location off the traveled portion of the highway and respond to a traffic stop by a law enforcement officer, (C) the administration of a test at the conclusion of each class, (D) the posting of rates charged for instruction, and (E) the general form in which records concerning persons under instruction and those who have completed their course of instruction shall be kept and, when required, the method of transmission to the commissioner, (2) except as required pursuant to section 14-36j, permit a class or classroom sSB235 / File No.

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452 instruction to be offered in person in a congregate setting, through distance learning or through a combination of both in-person and distance learning, provided such distance learning has interactive components such as mandatory interactions, participation or testing, and (3) establish the requirements for a person to receive a license as an instructor in accordance with section 14-73.

LCOSec. No.

1512 2 of 4 Raised Bill No.

235 Sec.

Such regulations shall (1) permit any local or regional board of education or private secondary school to contract with a licensed drivers' schoolapprovedby theCommissioner ofMotor Vehiclesfor the behind-the-wheel instruction of such driver education program and instruction therein may be given by such school's driving instructors who are licensed by the Department of Motor Vehicles, (2) require that the classroom instruction of any such driver education program include (A) a discussion concerning highway work zone safety and the responsibilities of an operator of a motor vehicle under section 14-212d, and (B) a discussion concerning ways to reduce incidents of operators driving in the wrong direction and actions to take when an operator encounters a motor vehicle being operated in the wrong direction, [and] (3) except for instruction offered pursuant to section 14-36j, permit a class or classroom instruction to be offered in person in a congregate setting, through distance learning or through a combination of both in- person and distance learning, provided such distance learning has interactive components such as mandatory interactions, participation or testing,and(4)requirethatthebehind-the-wheelinstructionofanysuchsSB235 driver/ educationFile programNo. include instruction and practice regarding how to stop in a safe location off the traveled portion of the highway and respond to a traffic stop by a law enforcement officer.

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452 testing,and(4)requirethatthebehind-the-wheelinstructionofanysuch driver education program include instruction and practice regarding how to stop in a safe location off the traveled portion of the highway and respond to a traffic stop by a law enforcement officer.

2 October 1, 2026 14-36f LCOStatement No.of Legislative Commissioners:

1512In 3Section 1(a), "the gender of 4such Raisedstudent's Billinstructor" No.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.

235Such Statementsafety measures shall include, but need not be limited to, whether" was changed to "indicating whether or not such licensee has undertakenthefollowing safety measures:"for clarity,inSection1(b)(1), "department" was changed to "Department of Purpose: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.

ToTRA (1)Joint permitFavorable aSubst. student to choose the gender of such student's driving instructor prior to behind-the-wheel instruction, (2) require vehicles used by a drivers' school to be equipped with an electronic monitoring system and an audio or video monitoring system, and (3) provide behind-the-wheelinstruction inhowto respondto atrafficstopby alaw enforcement officer.

thatsSB235 when/ theFile entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.] LCO No.

1512452 4 ofsSB235 4File No.

452 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 Minimal Minimal Revenue Gain 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.

sSB235 / File No.

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452 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.