Staff Spotlight

Greetings and welcome back to school.

My name is Mike Houghton, and I am the new Director of Traffic Education here at the OPI. Many of you may recognize me from my years teaching in Manhattan or my tenure at the OPI as the past Industrial Technology Education Specialist.

I am excited to be in my new role at the OPI and am looking forward to working with this amazing group of dedicated educators. I am committed to furthering our mission to train the best drivers and keep our roadways safe for all users. I am anxious to help advance traffic safety education in Montana and to champion programs across the state. 

Remember that we are here to support schools, students, instructors, and parents in delivering the best programs. Please reach out if we can help at Mike.Houghton@mt.gov or (406)444-4396. 

TEDRS

All traffic education instructors must renew their approval to teach traffic education the same year their educator license is up for renewal. Teachers who are still working toward their endorsement must earn at least four traffic education college credits during that five-year renewal period. Only renewing your educator license by June 30th isn't renewing your TE approval. You must submit a TE05 no later than September 30th of your renewal year, the OPI will update your contact information, check your driving record, and send you an official approval letter via email. Here is the link to the application: TE05 Teacher Renewal Form

To verify how many credits you need in order to renew your approval to teach traffic education, send an email to leann.haas@mt.gov. 

Hub Course

This course is designed for Montana traffic education teachers who are CDTP-trained and -certified and want to refresh their knowledge of the rules and procedures that are required for program participation. This course will cover the latest rule changes and procedures, and help you stay in compliance with the Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division.

This course does not replace the initial six-hour CDTP training course provided by the DOJ/MVD but may be useful for new teachers of traffic education as an overview of the program and for DOJ/MVD Driver Examiners who work closely with teachers and districts participating in the CDTP.

The passkey for taking the Hub course is CDTP. For questions and more information, contact the traffic education office at (406)444-4432. 

MVD/CDTP Update

The Motor Vehicle Division would like to remind instructors to verify all sections of the Class D application are filled out entirely before they are submitted to your local MVD station. Each section has instructions and all selections must be made to match the online pre-application. 

The page two section below must be completed or the MVD may reject the application. The questions are not optional. 

Montana DRIVE

The 45th season of Montana DRIVE wrapped up with 511 total participants. There were 44 teens who attended and gained valuable skills behind the wheel. The newest program to DRIVE saw 24 tribal teen participants. Consisting of bus drivers, state agency officials, firefighters, EMS personnel, and traffic education instructors, 443 adults successfully completed the advanced driver course this season. 

Thank you to all agencies, schools, parents, and individuals for taking the time to make the roads of Montana safer through our advanced driver training program.