Successful program received $12 million in continued funding as part of 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by the governor
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), today announced that applications are now being accepted for Wisconsin’s Driver Education Grant Program. The program, funded by the 2025-27 biennial budget signed into law by Gov. Evers, provides funding for income-eligible students to take driver education courses with the goal of becoming safe, licensed drivers. The financial assistance available will cover driver education tuition costs for coursework and behind-the-wheel training for eligible students.
“Combatting reckless driving across our state has been a bipartisan priority over the last few years, and teaching our kids the skills they need to be safe drivers is another important step toward cracking down on unsafe driving. Doing what’s best for our kids is what’s best for our state and ensuring the next generation of drivers can make good and safe decisions behind the wheel is critically important to building safer roads and communities for everyone,” said Gov. Evers. “Expanding opportunities for kids to take driver education and learn to drive safely is a no-brainer, and I’m proud the bipartisan, pro-kid state budget I signed into law last month invested $12 million to help do just that. I look forward to seeing this successful program continue to lower costs for working families, promote driver education, and expand pathways for safe driving on our roads.”
The Driver Education Grant Program provides grants to cover driver education tuition costs for 30 hours of classroom coursework, six hours of observation, and six hours of behind-the-wheel training for eligible students on a first-come, first-served basis. Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch through the National School Lunch Program, have not previously held a driver’s license, and who are between 14.5 and 19 years old may apply for the Driver Education Grant Program here.
“This program has already helped thousands of students learn to become safe, licensed drivers,” said WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. “We’re proud to continue delivering these critical grants under the leadership of Gov. Evers to reduce driver training barriers for families and work toward our goal of making Wisconsin’s roads safer.”
Originally created by Gov. Evers in the 2023-25 Biennial Budget, the Driver Education Grant Program has provided $6 million in grants to more than 10,000 students since the program was launched in September 2024. After the program’s launch, it quickly reached capacity in just over a month. The 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers earlier this summer continued this important program with an investment of $12 million over the next two years that will be dispersed quarterly.
“We are excited to announce that we were successful in making the annual $6 million allocation permanent,” said Brenda McMurtry, board member of Common Ground of Milwaukee, a diverse coalition of partner organizations working to create positive change, and who championed the creation of this program back in 2023. “Now, each year $6 million in grants will be available to help low-income students across Wisconsin learn safe driving practices and get their licenses.”
Enrolled students will receive confirmation of eligibility, which they can take to a driver training school of their choice. WisDOT developed an interactive map to help students locate a program conveniently near them. These students may take the classroom portion and/or the behind-the-wheel training with an authorized driver training school. WisDOT will reimburse the school for the students’ training.
WisDOT will deliver an initial phase of $1.5 million in grants to the first wave of applicants who apply beginning Aug. 25, 2025. Students unable to enroll this quarter and who did not receive funding may sign up to be notified when applications are accepted in the following quarter.
EVERS ADMINISTRATION’S EFFORTS TO BUILD STRONGER, SAFER ROADS FOR ALL
Building on his and his Administration’s work to make Wisconsin’s roads safer for all, the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget includes several critical investments in the state’s transportation infrastructure to ensure the roads that Wisconsin’s teens are learning to drive on are safe and in good repair. After years of neglect under the previous administration, Gov. Evers has made fixing Wisconsin’s roads and bridges and making sure the state’s infrastructure can meet the needs of a 21st-century workforce and a 21st-century economy a top priority. Since 2019, under his administration, the state has improved more than 8,600 miles of roads and 2,000 bridges statewide. In fact, Wisconsinites could drive from Wausau, Wisconsin, to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and back three times on the number of miles of roads fixed. In each of his biennial budgets, Gov. Evers has secured historic investments in Wisconsin’s transportation infrastructure, and improving Wisconsin’s roads and bridges continued to be a priority for the governor in this budget.
The final 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers provides $1.1 billion in new funding for key transportation investments. This includes:
Increasing General Transportation Aids (GTA) by three percent in both 2026 and 2027, which will provide municipalities with $33.2 million more over the biennium and counties with nearly $10 million over the biennium; A historic increase of nearly $333 million over the biennium in the state highway rehabilitation program; $100 million for the Local Roads Improvement Program; Continuing support for the Agricultural Roads Improvement Program, created by Gov. Evers in the 2023-25 biennium, with a $150 million investment to continue repairing and improving Wisconsin’s rural roads to help farmers and producers and the state’s agricultural and forestry industries move products to market safely and efficiently; $30 million of the $150 million secured for ARIP will be specifically targeted to bridge and culvert repair to help improve and repair deteriorating bridges across the state. $244.5 million to keep key projects, such as I-41 and I-39/90, on schedule; A 10 percent increase to paratransit aids, increasing funding by $687,600 over the biennium; Improving safety on Milwaukee County expressways with $38 million in expressway policing aids; and $50 million for the harbor assistance program, including $15 million for the Menominee Harbor Project and $20 million for the Port of Green Bay. The 2025-27 Biennial Budget also improves ongoing transportation fund revenues by generating nearly $200 million in additional revenue to improve the sustainability of the transportation fund.
An online version of this release is available here.
