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S 2419Personal

Motor and Other Vehicles - Operators’ and Chauffeurs’ Licenses

This bill allows students to complete their required driver education courses online through a virtual format until July 2028.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Jan 30, 2026Committee Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

Plain-English Summary

This legislation amends Rhode Island's driver education laws to officially authorize the use of instructor-led virtual formats for the state-mandated 33-hour driver training course. Previously utilized as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, this bill permits the continued use of online driver education as an alternative to in-person classroom instruction until July 1, 2028. Additionally, the bill requires the State Board of Education to submit a report to the legislature by September 1, 2028, comparing the test results of students who took the course virtually versus those who attended in person.

For younger readers

When teenagers want to get their driver's license, they have to take a long class to learn the rules of the road. Before, they usually had to sit in a school classroom to do this. This new law says they are allowed to take that class on a computer using the internet, like a Zoom call with a teacher. This rule will last until the summer of 2028. The state will also check to make sure kids learn just as well on the computer as they do in a real classroom.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Teenagers seeking driver's licensesParents of teenage driversDriver education schoolsDriving instructorsRhode Island Department of Education
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Increases equity and accessibility by providing a virtual option for students who lack reliable transportation to physical classrooms or live in rural areas with limited course availability.
  • Supports students with physical, emotional, or learning challenges who may find traditional classroom settings difficult or exclusionary, allowing them to participate in a more accommodating environment.
  • Modernizes public services by acknowledging that virtual instruction has yielded comparable test scores to in-person learning, thereby removing unnecessary logistical barriers for working families.
  • May inadvertently disadvantage low-income students who lack reliable high-speed internet access or adequate computer hardware at home, potentially widening the digital divide.
  • Could reduce the quality of community building and social interaction that occurs in physical classrooms, which is valuable for developing social responsibility among young drivers.
  • Risks creating a scenario where virtual instruction becomes a passive experience with less engagement than hands-on, in-person learning, potentially impacting the depth of safety education.
For Conservatives
  • Expands personal freedom and parental choice by allowing families to decide which educational format—in-person or virtual—best fits their specific schedule and needs.
  • Reduces government-imposed logistical burdens on families, recognizing that mandating physical presence is inefficient and unnecessary for theoretical instruction that can be delivered remotely.
  • Encourages efficiency and modernization in driver education services, allowing providers to operate with lower overhead costs associated with physical classroom rentals.
  • Raises concerns about accountability and the potential for fraud, as it is more difficult to verify that the student is actually paying attention or taking the tests without help in a remote setting.
  • Could compromise public safety if virtual instruction proves less effective than traditional methods at instilling respect for traffic laws and safe driving habits over the long term.
  • Creates a sunset provision and reporting requirement that adds bureaucratic layers and administrative costs to the state education system rather than establishing a permanent, decisive rule.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 7 additions

SECTION 1. Legislative findings.

(1) The Rhode Island department of education has temporarily authorized driver education schools to deliver the thirty-three (33) hour community college of Rhode Island approved driver training curriculum in an instructor-led virtual format since April, 2020.

(2) The virtual platform used to present the curriculum allows the instructor to see students on-screen and monitor student engagement by providing spot quizzes, interactive question and answer sessions, class polling and final exam.

(3) Scores for exams taken in a classroom setting (pre-pandemic) and those taken virtually are comparable (90.94 on average for in-person vs. 89.58 on average for virtual).

(4) Virtual instruction can provide workable alternatives to students with physical, emotional, or other learning challenges.

(5) A virtual instruction option promotes greater accessibility to the curriculum advancing equity and inclusion.

(6) A virtual option can be particularly important in rural areas or Rhode Island communities where no classroom instruction is available.

SECTION 2. Section 31-10-20 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-10 entitled "Operators’ and Chauffeurs’ Licenses" is hereby amended to read as follows: 31-10-20. Driver education course requirement before licensing.

(a) No limited-instruction permit or license shall be issued to any person not more than eighteen (18) years of age unless that person shall have successfully completed a course of instruction as provided in § 31-10-19, or a similar course of instruction, conducted in a classroom setting or in an instructor-led virtual format, recognized by the state board of education as equivalent to it. The instructor-led virtual format course shall be permitted until July 1, 2028 and a report analyzing the test results of the instructor-led virtual instruction format as compared to the in-person classroom instruction format shall be provided by the state board of education, to the speaker of the house and president of the senate no later than September 1, 2028. However, any person who is over eighteen (18) years of age and has been a holder of a motor vehicle operator’s license issued to that person by any other state, territory, or possession of the United States, or any other sovereignty for a period of one year immediately prior to his or her application for a license under this chapter shall not be required to comply with the provisions of this section.

(b) Commencing on July 1, 2004, no limited-instruction permit or license shall be issued to any person not more than eighteen (18) years of age unless that person shall have successfully completed a course of instruction as provided in § 31-10-19, or a similar course of instruction in another state recognized by the state board of education as equivalent to it. In determining whether a course is equivalent, the state board of education shall at a minimum require: (1) That the course consist of at least thirty-three (33) instructional hours that substantially conform with the current curriculum utilized by the instructor(s) at the Community College of Rhode Island, including a minimum of three (3) hours of instruction focusing upon specific Rhode Island traffic laws, the specific requirements of the Rhode Island graduated-licensing statute in § 31-10-6, and eight (8) hours specifically for instruction on the effects of alcohol and drugs on a driver. All driver’s education programs shall include information concerning the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, chapter 18.6.1 of title 23, and information on donor cards pursuant to the applicable provisions of chapter 18.6.1 of title 23; (2) That the instructor holds a valid teacher’s certificate; (3) That the instructor satisfactorily completes at least a three-credit (3) course in traffic safety education at an accredited institution of higher education; and (4) That the program does not offer outside the classroom road test instruction or driving lessons to Rhode Island students. However, any person who is over eighteen (18) years of age and has been a holder of a motor vehicle operator’s license issued to that person by any other state, territory, or possession of the United States, or any other sovereignty for a period of one year immediately prior to his or her application for a license under this chapter shall not be required to comply with the provisions of this section.

(c) The driver’s education course and driver’s license examination shall include material pertaining to a driver’s rights and responsibilities when stopped by a law enforcement officer as explained during the driver education course, including, but not limited to, rights provided to drivers pursuant to chapter 21.2 of title 31, the “comprehensive community-police relationship act of 2015.”

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.