Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on Aug. 31 unveiled a series of anti-fraud measures, including the closure of 110 commercial driver license schools linked to 5,000 drivers who failed English-language proficiency tests and a nationwide audit of state third-party CDL testing programs.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has proposed codifying English-language proficiency (ELP) enforcement for commercial truck drivers, a move the agency estimates could put 9,000 drivers out of service each year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the notice of proposed rulemaking to solidify the ELP mandate revived last year under the Trump administration. The mandate reversed an Obama-era directive in 2016 stating that FMCSA no longer had to automatically place a driver out of service (OOS) for being unable to read English-language highway signs or speak the language.