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TEDRS
Traffic education applications for the 2027 reimbursement year are needed if your summer course ends on or after July 1st, 2026. Be sure to get your applications in early. If you are renewing your educator license this year, you also need to submit a TE05 Form found on the teacher renewal page of the traffic education website.
TE06 Year-End-Reports are due no later than July 10th. The TE06 can be submitted anytime after the final course completion of that reimbursement year. Your class completion and reimbursement request must also be certified on the TE03/04 student list in order for your student count to be correct.
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Module 6 Update
The curriculum for Module 6.2 has had an update and overhaul. Working closely with The Foundation for a Drug-Free World and DrugEducators.org, there are new classroom materials that can be downloaded and used for the lesson on alcohol and drugs. FREE booklets can be ordered for your classroom by using this order form.
Darren Tessitore of DrugEducators.org unveiled and presented the new materials at the 2026 Traffic Education Conference. Darren's presentation highlighted the value of local statistics and information to promote safe driving and drug-free decisions. If you have any questions, please reach out to the OPI Traffic Education Office.
DrugEducators.org also had a wonderful press release for the Montana curriculum integration. "Montana – April 28, 2026 — DrugEducators.org, a national nonprofit focused on prevention-based drug education, successfully trained driver education instructors across the state of Montana today on a newly developed drug and alcohol curriculum designed to help students make safer, life-saving decisions behind the wheel. This training took place in Montana and was built using Montana-specific data from state agencies." Continue reading the article here.
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2026 Conference Overview
Major highlights of this year's conference include presentations by Joe Fitzgerald, Sue Carney, Scott Brown & Gena Ferlan, and many others. Joe engaged the group with storytelling and facts that were relatable to everyone. Sue's workshop on student engagement showed instructors how to get out of their seats and their comfort zones. Gena and Scott showed how their use of humor and classroom tools can benefit all driver education students across Montana.
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A Message from the Director
Greetings from Traffic Education,
As we end the school year and summer begins, I know that we are all ready to shift gears.
In the Traffic Education programs, we are about to launch the 47th season of Montana DRIVE Summer Workshops. For those who may not know, these are one-day summer workshops for teens and adults to improve driving skills through hands-on practice in skid control, evasive steering, off-road recovery and cornering in cars, buses, and trucks on a closed track. The goal of this program is to provide drivers with skills that can save lives and to provide you with greater confidence on the roadways in Montana and beyond. We encourage all who travel in Montana to sign up and join us for a day of high intensity fun and learning. Montana DRIVE also offers bus driver CDL training and will have a session available in August. The course is a 10-day, comprehensive ELDT training program that includes First Aid/CPR and final testing, allowing participants to drive immediately after completing the course. If your district needs bus drivers, please reach out to me at 406-465-1970.
The End of April found us in Great Falls, at the annual Traffic Education Conference, where, we at the OPI sponsored a pre-conference workshop that provided information about strategies to screen, instruct and refer novice drivers with disabilities. As usual, the main conference held many workshops and sessions to support Traffic Education instructors in all aspects of instruction, record keeping and best practices in the classroom and Behind-The-Wheel.
I hope you all have a fantastic, relaxing summer and come back ready for the next school year. Please reach out to us if you need assistance and support.
Mike Houghton
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Contact the Traffic Education Office with questions about state-approved traffic education programs in Montana, becoming a state-approved traffic educator, attending a Montana DRIVE Workshop, or for parent and teen driver education resources.
Call (406) 444-4432 or visit http://opi.mt.gov/DriverEd
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The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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