More than 550 truck driver training schools in the United States must close after investigators found they employed unqualified instructors, failed to adequately test students, and had other safety issues, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced.

The move marks the Trump administration’s latest effort to improve safety in the trucking industry. And unlike its actions last fall to decertify nearly 7,500 schools, many of which were defunct, this step is focused on active schools that inspectors identified as having significant shortcomings during site visits in December.

DOT Secretary Sean Duffy said 448 schools failed to meet basic safety standards. Inspectors found deficiencies, including employing unqualified instructors, failing to test students’ skills or teach them how to handle hazardous materials, and using the wrong equipment to teach drivers. 

Another 109 schools removed themselves from the registry after learning that inspections were planned.

“American families should have confidence that our school bus and truck drivers are following every letter of the law and that starts with receiving proper training before getting behind the wheel,” Duffy said.

Established schools welcome the effort

The list of schools that officials want to decertify are generally smaller ones, including a number of programs run by school districts. Five of the bigger, more reputable schools represented by the Commercial Vehicle Training Association were audited, but all passed.

CVTA Chairman Jeffery Burkhardt said established schools welcome the enforcement effort. He said these audits mark the first time regulators have enforced the standards for driving schools that were passed in 2022.

“The good players have no problem with it. Absolutely none,” said Burkhardt, who is also is the senior director of operations at Ancora, which provides CDL training at colleges, community colleges and companies.

Part of the training problem is that schools and trucking companies can essentially self-certify when they apply to begin operating. It wasn’t immediately clear how many students were enrolled at these schools that are being decertified or how many graduated with questionable qualifications. 

Burkhardt said that hopefully most of the unqualified drivers were weeded out before they got on the highway by the skills tests states administer before handing out commercial licenses.

Trucking groups also support DOT’s crackdown

Both the American Trucking Associations and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association praised DOT’s action. 

OOIDA President Todd Spencer said the reliance of some companies on these questionable schools “fueled a destructive churn” in the industry.

“Rather than fix retention problems and working conditions, some in the industry chose to cut corners and push undertrained drivers onto the road. That approach has undermined safety and devalued the entire trucking profession,” Spencer said.

“We commend the Trump administration for taking decisive action to strengthen the integrity of our commercial driver training system and reinforce its commitment to safer roads,” said Henry Hanscom, ATA’s chief advocacy & public affairs officer. “The proposed removal or voluntary withdrawal of more than 550 CDL training providers from the national Training Provider Registry makes clear there is no place in trucking for sham schools that fail to meet federal requirements.  

– The Associated Press contributed to this article.