CINCINNATI — Beginning Sept. 30, thousands of young adults in Ohio won't be able to get a driver's license without completing a driver's education program.
Currently, Ohio law has been that anyone seeking a driver's license at the age of 18 could take the test without completing driver's ed. After the end of September, that age will be raised to 21, and everyone between the ages of 16 and 20 will have to take driver's ed.
The requirements mean anyone under 21 has to complete 24 hours of classroom training, eight hours of behind-the-wheel training and 50 hours of driving with a licensed adult.
The requirement change was added to Ohio's more-than-3,000-page state budget, which was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine on July 1.
DeWine has fought to put driver's education programs back in public schools, and stressed the need for it during a February press conference where he explained many of the items included in the budget bill.
"We have to start taking action and through our budget, we will do that," said DeWine on Feb. 3. "Let me say very clearly, it is now time to put driver's training back in our high schools. This needs to be done. Schools are the logical and most accessible places for teens to learn how to drive."
WATCH: We speak with the owner of Bob Shropshire Sons Driving School about the new law
But no such mandate made it into the final budget bill that was ultimately passed by the Ohio General Assembly in June and signed by DeWine on July 1.
Instead, the bill offers schools the option of starting their own driver's education program.
"A board of education of each city, exempted village, local and joint vocational school district may make a driver education course available to high school students enrolled in the district in accordance with Chapter 4508 of the Revised Code," reads the final bill. "No school district making such a course available shall require any student to enroll in the course in lieu of taking a training course from a private driver training school licensed under that chapter."
The bill does not allow for any additional funds specifically for public schools to start these driver's education programs. It does say that a "career-technical planning district" can use a portion of career-technical education funds to make a driver education course available to high school students in the district.
An announcement on the Ohio Traffic Safety Office's website on February 5 said that DeWine's declaration days prior on the state budget "includes funding to expand driver training in Ohio schools." Ultimately, no funding items specifically for driver's education classes or for starting a new driver's education program appear in the final budget.
So what if I can't afford driver's ed?
DeWine acknowledged in February that he was aware the high cost of driver's education classes could be prohibitive to some families. He also pointed out that driver's ed schools aren't widespread and there are communities without access to one.
"Unfortunately, current driving training programs are simply out of reach for many Ohio families," DeWine said. "The training is either too expensive or it's not very close. In fact, some counties have no driver training option in the entire county."
On the Ohio Traffic Safety Office's website, a Q&A page about the new law suggests checking with your local Job & Family Services office to see if there are any funding opportunities available. While Hamilton County's Job and Family Services department does offer a youth employment program, I could not find anything on their website specifically tailored to financial aid for driver's education courses.
The Ohio Traffic Safety Office also suggests checking with organizations that have received the state's Drive to Succeed grant.
I reached out to the Ohio Department of Public Safety to learn more about that grant. Judy Converse, public information officer with the department, told me recipients of the grant's third round of funding will be announced "sometime in October," but that round of funding will exclusively be available to Ohio's Educational Service Centers (ESCs).
ESCs are educational support centers located throughout Ohio. They provide specialized instructional programs and other resources, like behavioral and health services, to schools and districts of all kinds.
Converse also told me that most agencies that received a Drive to Succeed grant in the second round of funding in 2024 still have funds available for scholarships.
"Most agencies that received a grant through our second round of funding in 2024 still have funds available for scholarships," Converse told me in an email. "OTSO does not award scholarships directly to students or parents from the state level, so families would have to contact the participating agency in their area to apply."
You can see the organizations that received those grants in 2024 below:
Why was this law change necessary?
According to DeWine, the change was put in place because he believes it will help save lives.
DeWine said during that February press conference that data surrounding drivers who waited until they were 18 to get their driver's license, bypassing the driver's education requirement, was concerning.
"Over the past five years, we have seen, when we look at the data, significantly more 18-, 19-year-old drivers were involved in fatal crashes," said DeWine. "More of those, 18 and 19, than the 16- and 17-year-olds. Many of them never get any driver's training at all."
According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, there have been 450,961 "youth-related" crashes since 2020. As of September 25, 2025, OSHP reported that 1,597 of those "youth-related" crashes involved a fatality.
Ohio State Highway Patrol defines a crash as "youth-related" if it involves a driver between the ages of 15 and 24. The OSHP dashboard does not provide further filtering for data connected to crashes only involving drivers aged 18 through 20.
OSHP's data dashboard also shows Hamilton County has had the most youth-related crashes in the past five years of any other county. Since 2020, Hamilton County has reported 50,372 "youth-related" crashes. Comparatively, Franklin County, which houses Columbus, saw 39,373 in the past five years and Cuyahoga County, which houses Cleveland, had 42,850.
However, Hamilton County has had the fewest fatal "youth-related" crashes in the past five years. Since 2020, Hamilton County has had 92 fatal "youth-related" crashes. By contrast, Franklin County saw 176 and Cuyahoga County saw 119 in that same time frame.
A Cincinnati driving school weighs in
Chris Shropshire, owner of Bob Shropshire Sons Driving School, said that since the beginning of September, about 50% of the calls coming into his business have revolved around the new law.
"A lot of calls, a lot of emails, and we're meeting them, just letting them know the information," he said. "We get a chance to really affect the future drivers."
When it comes to a potential backlog with the expected influx of new driving students, Shropshire said to expect higher wait times, even if just slightly.
"40,000 additional drivers will need that behind-the-wheel experience," Shropshire said. "Usually, most driving schools are probably going to be about four to eight weeks wait time."
Shropshire admitted that the new law may serve as a financial barrier to some, but points to the potential upside of improved safety.
"The data does suggest going to driving school does make better defensive drivers, because you know the laws, you know the rules," said Shropshire. "It's definitely going to make better drivers."
