(UPDATED: Rep. Ron Mendive told EdNews Wednesday he plans to introduce a bill during the 2026 legislative session to allow parents to teach their children to drive, regardless of where they live or whether their district offers a driver’s ed course.) 

For at least the last 40 years, students in Coeur d’Alene could learn to drive at school.

But now, due to a 2024 state law, that’s no longer an option.

House Bill 531 was meant to give families more choice. It allowed students to take an online driver’s education course, then have their parent or guardian supervise the 92 hours of on-the-road training over the course of six months.

Students only qualify for the parent program if they live in a rural area or if their school district doesn’t offer a driver’s ed course.

So Monday evening, the Coeur d’Alene Board of Trustees voted to end their driver’s ed courses in November, so students can learn to drive at home and save money.

Cost of learning to drive

Coeur d’Alene trustees for years directed the district to run the driver’s ed program as cost neutral, meaning the fees students pay to take the course should cover the program entirely.

However, Trent Derrick, executive director of secondary school, told the board the program ran at a nearly $30,000 deficit last year. The student fees for the program, which serves about 200 students a year, would need to increase to cover the deficit.

The CDA program was typically cheaper than private drivers programs but now the cost is more comparable, he said. The current instructor plans to retire this fall and the program needs a new vehicle. Derrick presented the issue at the board’s August meeting. Trustees then directed Derrick to go do more research to see if there were ways to lower the cost.

Derrick spoke to Parker Toyota, a local car dealer, which agreed to donate a vehicle to the program, if they could put their logo on the car. Derrick got approval from the Idaho Department of Education to do so.

But even in light of the donation, the program would cost between $375 and $405 per student.

Other private programs cost around $400-$460 but typically use the state’s online course for the classroom instruction portion, unlike the school district that has both a classroom instructor and on-the-road lessons.

The parent-led program costs about $75 to complete with registration for the state’s online course and other fees.

In light of the potential cost savings by cancelling the district program and allowing CDA families to do the parent-led option, Derrick recommended shuttering the program.

“It’s somewhat unfortunate that it’s an all or nothing,” he said. “However, that’s the reality, that’s where we’re at.”

Trustee Jimmy McAndrews wasn’t thrilled about the options but felt that taking away the potential cost savings made canceling the program the obvious choice.

“We don’t want to take options away,” he said. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

Trustee Heather Tenbrink said she just put her own children through driver’s ed and knows how expensive it is and that there can often be a waitlist for both the district and private programs.

She also expressed frustration that most private companies only offer an online option.

“That online classroom instruction might not be as effective for some kids,” Tenbrink said.”Because the law is there that says parents can’t do it if we offer it…it’s a hard one for me.”

Board Chair Rebecca Smith said she was supportive of the change due to the state law but noted the trustees received an email from a mother with an autistic child who said classroom instruction was key for her son.

Ultimately, the three trustees voted unanimously to shutter the program. Trustees Rick Rasmussen and Lesli Bjerke were absent.

The trustees said they planned to reach out to state legislators to see about changing the law to allow parent-led instruction regardless if the local school district offered a program and encouraged CDA parents to do the same.

Bjerke’s husband, Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene, sponsored HB 531 in the Senate. Carl Bjerke was out of the country when reached by EdNews. He said in an email that one of the main reasons the bill was introduced was because school districts were already downsizing or eliminating their driver’s ed programs.

Rep. Ron Mendive introduced HB 531 and said it was born out of compromise.

“I would have really loved to have it just opened up to parents,” Mendive, R-Coeur d’Alene, said of HB 531.

Mendive noted Gov. Brad Little vetoed a bill in 2023 that would have allowed parents to teach their children to drive in all circumstances. In his veto letter, Little said he couldn’t allow different requirements between parental education and school provided courses. HB 531 did not have differing requirements but limited the circumstances when parents could teach their children to drive.

Mendive plans to introduce a different version of his bill in 2026, to allow parents to teach their children to drive and school districts to operate driver’s ed programs.

Districts that offer driver’s ed

Statewide, 52 schools districts and charters applied and were authorized to offer driver’s education for the 2025-26 school year, according to the State Department.

Those districts include:

• Boise.
• West Ada.
• Kuna.
• Bear Lake.
• Snake River.
• Blackfoot.
• Aberdeen.
• Shelley.
• West Bonner County.
• Lake Pend Oreille.
• Boundary County.
• Nampa.
• Caldwell.
• Parma.
• Vallivue.
• Cassia County.
• Challis.
• Mountain Home.
• Preston.
• West Side.
• Fremont County.
• Emmett.
• Gooding.
• Wendell.
• Cottonwood.
• Mountain View.
• Jefferson County.
• West Jefferson.
• Jerome.
• Valley.
• Coeur D’Alene.
• Genesee.
• Kendrick.
• Salmon.
• Shoshone.
• Madison.
• Sugar-Salem.
• Minidoka.
• Lewiston.
• Payette.
• American Falls.
• Teton County.
• Twin Falls.
• Filer.
• Kimberly.
• Hansen.
• McCall-Donnelly.
• Connor Academy.
• Taylor’s Crossing Public Charter School.
• Elevate Academy, Caldwell.
• Idaho Digital Learning Academy.
• Project Impact STEM Academy.