Federal authorities have closed 11 commercial driving schools in California, citing a lack of English proficiency among instructors and students. The action, announced by the Department of Transportation (DOT), is part of a broader crackdown on schools nationwide that have allegedly failed to meet training standards.
The 11 California schools are located across the state, including in Southern California, the Bay Area, and the Central Valley. These closures are linked to issues involving more than 5,000 drivers across the country who failed English language proficiency tests, according to documents obtained by The California Post.
DOT Secretary Sean Duffy stated at a press conference that an emergency order was issued to close 110 schools nationally and suspend another 160 for failing to meet facility standards. "You have to speak English to operate a commercial vehicle. I didn’t create that rule. President Trump didn’t create that rule. That rule has been in place for decades, and we have schools that know the rule and still pass people through their school who can’t speak the language," Duffy said.
Some of the affected schools advertised multilingual instruction, with at least two noting instructors fluent in "English, Punjabi, Hindi & Spanish!" Federal officials indicated that California had the second-highest number of schools closed due to English proficiency failures, with Pennsylvania and Texas each having 13 schools shut down, ranking them first.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin described California as having the "worst abusers" of Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDLs), stating, "By far, the worst abusers are in California under [Gov.] Gavin Newsom’s leadership. It doesn’t just affect California. It affects our entire country." Mullin also suggested a connection between deadly or near-fatal incidents involving drivers and their CDLs being issued in sanctuary cities. California has been a sanctuary state since 2018.
The DOT pointed to a recent operation in the Midwest where over four dozen unauthorized immigrant truck drivers were detained. Approximately 41% of these drivers received their CDLs from either California or New York, according to the department.
One instance cited involved an unauthorized immigrant from India who obtained a California CDL and was involved in a 2024 collision that left a 7-year-old girl permanently disabled. The father and daughter were in a car that was struck by the tractor-trailer.
The list of closed California schools includes A2Z TRUCK DRIVING SCHOOL INC, CALIFORNIA TRUCK DRIVING SCHOOL, DIAMOND TRUCK DRIVING SCHOOL, DYNASTY TRUCKING SCHOOL INC, GO4CDL LLC, International truck driving school, Junan Truck Driving School, KMT LOGISTICS LLC, OSSO Corp, TRUCKMASTER CDL SCHOOL, and WEST COAST TRUCK SCHOOL INC.