After Jan. 1, 2010, teens will not be able to get their driver’s licenses until they are 17. Along with this, teens will be required to have their instructional permit for a year instead of six months.

Governor Kathleen Sebelius signed Graduate Driver’s License (GDL) Bill 2143 on March 27. The GDL provisions are that at age 16 drivers will be limited to no more than one non-sibling passenger under age of 18 during the six first months of getting their licenses and late-night driving will be restricted to 9 p.m. during the first six months of getting their licenses.

The law makes a lot of changes, that some may not like.

"I don’t like the idea of making the instruction permit for a year instead of 6 months. I think 6 months was adequate," drivers ed teacher Charles Triggs said. "The time framework, that’s going to be a problem. You have a person goes to a softball game in Ark City. They might get back at 11 o’clock at night. How are they going to get home? I think they need to make something different."

Although this bill affects the age of getting a driver’s license, this bill will not affect Driver’s Education.

"Basically what it does is still requires students who want to get a restricted license to take Driver’s Ed just like it did before," Triggs said.