By Chloe Robertson / Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

Out of the 186,484 people who applied for a driver’s license in Ohio in 2018, only 47% were under the age of 18 — meaning only those 47% had definitely enrolled in and finished driver training, which is required for drivers get their licenses at 16 or 17.

The state and school districts are now working to help teens access driver’s ed despite the cost.

“First of all, [teens] can’t get in. Second of all, it’s too expensive,” assistant director and training programs administrator of the Ohio Traffic Safety Office, Kimberly Schwind said. “But earlier this year, the Ohio Traffic Safety Office launched a Drive to Succeed Scholarship Program.” 

These scholarships are being provided to local communities of students with higher poverty levels to help pay for their driver training. This program was developed in 2022 to allow eligible teenage drivers to attend driver training classes at no cost to their families. 

“Last spring we awarded 25 of the grants to different entities throughout the state,” Schwind said. “We know the need is really high because we had 72 grant applications and we only had the funding to award 25.” 

Akron Public Schools is also working to help make driver training more accessible to students. Many students struggle to find jobs after high school if they don’t have a driver’s license, APS Director of Special Education Rachel Tecca said. 

“When we started the College and Career Academies of Akron, we really started to kind of engage our business community at a deep level,” said Tecca, who worked to develop that program. College and Career Academies helps high school students prepare for their upcoming careers by providing them with hands-on learning experiences to strengthen their education to employment pipeline. 

“We wanted to make sure our students were college and career ready with their high school diploma,” Tecca said.

APS partnered with Driving Schools of Ohio to set up a scholarship program with driving schools for all APS students. The program offers a discounted tuition rate for driver training and increased accessibility. 

On top of that, APS students are able to take driver training in the comfort of their own school campus. The partnership helped with the expenses of driver’s education, but Tecca says the ability to take the classes in their own school is even better accessibility for students. 

Students could have “the convenience of being able to stay right there in their own school and take classes and do their in-car experiences,” Tecca said. 

Tecca says a driver’s license gets students one step closer to achieving future career goals. With the increased access to driver training programs students can commute to jobs more easily and more safely, while also having the protection of GDL training. 

“It just provides accessibility for students,” Tecca said. “Being able to have your driver’s license provides you a little bit more access to careers.” 

 In 2018, The Ohio Traffic Safety Office worked with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to study teen traffic safety. They found that 18- and 19-year-old untrained but licensed drivers had a higher crash rate than 16- and 17-year-old licensed drivers.

This data shows that licensed drivers with driver training have a lower crash risk than licensed drivers without driver training. 

“Once you turn 18 you’re not required to take driver training, and you’re also not experiencing any of the GDL (Graduated Driver Licensing) protections,” Schwind said. “And so we know that those drivers that are licensed after taking driver training are in a much better position.” 

Ohio is one of the 15 states that requires driver training. Ohio driver training includes 24 hours of course instruction, fifty hours of natural driving practice and eight hours of instructed driving. 

Schools used to provide driver’s ed, but in the 1990s third-party providers took over. Schwind says it’s not cheap for driver training schools to provide that instruction, however. They have to factor in the costs of insurance, vehicles, maintenance facilities, instructors and more. 

“Their margins are very slim,” Schwind said. 

Schwind believes The Ohio Traffic Safety Office is working to increase driver training accessibility, capacity and educational quality. 

“These are the things that no higher traffic safety office is laser focused on working on,” Schwind said.


This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

More than three in five Utahns believe the state is on the wrong track and their quality of life is worse today than it was five years ago.

A new report by the Utah Foundation paints a bleak picture about how Utah residents feel about their home state. Data in the report found the cost of living and government dysfunction were the most important issues for Utah voters in 2024.

Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Sandy, an economist for Zions Bank, said there is growing political and economic disenfranchisement among Utahns.

"People just don't feel like they have the opportunities that they've had in the past," Spendlove explained. "The rate of inflation has come down in the last year, but the overall price increase remains. So overall prices are up about 20% in the last five years and so people are really struggling to adjust."

Spendlove observed Utahns are struggling to adjust to having to pay approximately 20% more on things such as housing, food, gas and even car insurance. He suspects prices are unlikely to come down and contended Utahns' income needs to go up but added it will take time.

The report's authors said the data is useful for state leaders to understand the needs of Utahns and get the state on the right track and improve quality of life.

Ahead of this year's election in November, the report found other issues relating to political dysfunction included voters feeling ignored by politicians, government overreach and partisan politics were at the top of the list.

Spendlove noted it is why he supports Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's call to "Disagree Better." He pointed out while the initiative aims to improve attitudes and behaviors across the political spectrum by incentivizing consensus building, he is unsure whether policy solutions at the state level are being discussed.

"One of the questions is, 'Do we revisit how people get to the ballot?' 'Do we lower the threshold on signature gathering?' 'Do we have different models of primaries?'" Spendlove outlined. "It is kind of early in that discussion, but I think it is a really important discussion that we need to be having."

The report found voters who participated in the survey expressed frustration in not feeling heard and contend elected officials pay too little attention to voters in favor of corporations, religious organizations or special-interest groups.


get more stories like this via email

Consumer groups are accusing major grocery retailers - like Amazon, Kroger and Walmart - of price gouging, both during and after the pandemic.

The allegation of corporate greed comes after a new report from the Federal Trade Commission found profits for grocery chains jumped sharply, at rates that could not be justified by supply chain disruptions.

Angela Huffman is president of the nonprofit Farm Action.

"It's one thing to raise your prices to cover higher expenses, but what these companies did is use the pandemic as an excuse to exploit the American people who needed to put food on their tables," said Huffman. "And the FTC report shows that they're still doing it, here in 2024."

The report found that retailer profits rose to 6% over total costs in 2021, and 7% in the first three quarters of 2023 - compared to 5.6% in 2015.

According to a report from Help Advisor, California households pay the highest grocery costs in the country, averaging almost $300 a week - about $27 more than the national average.

The Food Industry Association blames today's high prices on high labor costs and credit card payment fees.

Huffman said she thinks the feds should take anti-trust action to increase competition - and consider forcing the grocery behemoths to break up.

"That would be the ideal outcome is to take away their excessive power," said Huffman. "But other than that, these companies can be fined for this kind of price gouging. And that's another action we would support. There needs to be some kind of consequences."

The FTC staff report recommends "further inquiry by the commission and policymakers," but doesn't propose specific remedies.




get more stories like this via email

Air travelers could face fewer obstacles in securing a refund if their flight is canceled or changed under new federal rules announced Wednesday.

The moves are being praised by watchdog groups. The Department of Transportation said airlines are now required to promptly provide passengers with automatic cash refunds when they are owed one.

Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, said some carriers have not adhered to standards, leaving passengers in a bind.

"They would drag their feet, and they would say, 'Well, you bought your ticket from a ticket agent, so we don't know where your money is. Or, here, have a voucher,'" Murray explained.

Amid higher complaint volumes, companies will be forced to act quickly. The new rules, which are being phased in, provide clearer definitions for travel disruptions, including delays of at least three hours on a domestic flight and six hours on international flights. A key industry group responded to the announcement by touting transparency efforts among carriers.

Murray acknowledged most people are not frequent flyers, and it is hard for them to keep up on all the least practices and policies among airlines.

"The average person only flies once every 18 months," Murray pointed out. "This will just bring transparency to that process and it kind of evens the playing field."

Murray added it could come in handy for Midwestern customers when a winter storm wreaks havoc on air travel. The new rules also require refunds for baggage fees when a piece of luggage is delayed by 12 hours or more for domestic flights. And there must be upfront disclosure on fees for first and second checked bags and carry-on bags.


get more stories like this via email