WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is moving to boot roughly 270 commercial driver training schools from the federal system after investigators uncovered missing testing records, unlicensed instructors, inadequate driving ranges and even a purported “classroom” located inside a school bus parked in the back of a trailer.
The sweeping enforcement action announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice and other federal agencies expands a crackdown that has already reached Iowa highways.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials said more than 110 Entry-Level Driver Training providers are being immediately removed from the federal Training Provider Registry after investigators connected them to more than 5,000 commercial drivers who later failed federal English-language proficiency requirements.
Those schools must immediately stop operating as federally recognized training providers, including classroom instruction, behind-the-wheel training and use of their facilities for CDL instruction.
Another 160-plus schools have received notices of proposed removal following a nationwide investigation.
The distinction means the widely circulated claim that all 270 schools have already been “shut down” is slightly ahead of the government’s official announcement: more than 110 face emergency removal, while more than 160 additional schools are undergoing the federal removal process.
Investigators found serious problems at some of the schools.
According to federal officials, violations included training ranges too small for students to perform required maneuvers, instructors who did not possess the proper licenses, facilities that failed to keep records of student assessments and questionable or nonexistent classroom facilities.
In one extraordinary case, federal investigators said a provider claimed its classroom consisted of a school bus sitting in the back of a trailer.
The investigation was enormous in scope. FMCSA dispatched 175 investigators into 40 states during July and conducted nearly 400 investigations of entry-level driver-training providers.
Federal officials say the consequences may extend far beyond paperwork violations.
Drivers certified by the more than 160 schools facing proposed removal have been linked to 239 commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities, according to the Department of Justice.
The government is also launching a nationwide audit of third-party CDL skills testers and the states responsible for overseeing them.
Federal law requires CDL skills testing to be conducted in English. Nevertheless, USDOT says more than 28,000 commercial drivers have been placed out of service for English-language proficiency violations since June 2025.
The administration says it has also forced states to cancel more than 30,000 licenses that were improperly issued to foreign drivers and has removed thousands of unqualified training providers from the federal registry.
The latest announcement comes just weeks after federal authorities conducted another major trucking enforcement operation that directly included Iowa.
As NorthIowaToday.com previously reported, Operation Highway Shield targeted commercial drivers and vehicles in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio during a three-day operation in late July.
That enforcement effort resulted in 51 illegal immigrants being detained, including 21 drivers possessing non-domiciled CDLs issued by California and New York. Authorities also placed hundreds of drivers and vehicles out of service and issued violations to drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests.
The federal government is now moving its enforcement effort upstream — from stopping individual drivers along highways to examining the schools, testers, employers and businesses responsible for putting those drivers behind the wheel in the first place.
Homeland Security Investigations was also scheduled Monday to conduct a coordinated enforcement surge involving more than 200 driving schools across 23 states.
Investigators are examining suspected CDL fraud, unauthorized employment, identity-document fraud, financial crimes, money laundering, labor exploitation and possible connections to human smuggling, drug trafficking and cartel activity.
More than 1,000 leads involving CDL-related businesses have already been distributed to federal investigators, officials said.
Federal scrutiny of CDL schools has been building for months.
In July, USDOT and DHS announced that Homeland Security investigators would begin working with transportation officials on suspected fraudulent schools. At the time, approximately 75 providers had been identified for possible wrongdoing involving falsified training records, improper certifications or inadequate training.
Earlier in 2026, more than 550 CDL schools received notices of proposed removal after a separate federal investigation uncovered providers with unqualified instructors, false addresses and other alleged violations.
The English-language issue has also become a matter of state policy in Iowa.
Earlier this year, NorthIowaToday.com reported on Iowa legislation requiring commercial drivers to demonstrate English proficiency before receiving or renewing a CDL or commercial learner’s permit.
The proposal called for the Iowa Department of Transportation to administer a computer-based English proficiency examination and would prohibit commercial carriers from employing drivers who fail to meet the requirement.
NorthIowaToday.com also previously reported on federal findings involving alleged widespread problems with commercial-driver licensing in neighboring Minnesota, part of a broader nationwide audit of how states issue non-domiciled CDLs.
Federal authorities have increasingly tied those licensing concerns to highway safety.
In another case previously covered by NorthIowaToday.com, federal officials highlighted a fatal crash involving a foreign national accused of operating a semi without a valid commercial license.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the government intends to continue pursuing questionable training programs as well as states, testers and companies that allow unqualified drivers onto American roads.
The American Trucking Associations endorsed Monday’s crackdown, saying removal of fraudulent training operations and unqualified drivers should improve highway safety while leveling the playing field for legitimate trucking companies and professional drivers.
The new federal effort, dubbed the Joint Task Force Crossroads of America, brings together USDOT, DHS, federal prosecutors, the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and other law-enforcement agencies.
Officials say the investigation is continuing and additional enforcement actions against CDL schools, testing operations, trucking companies and individuals are possible.