FMCSA tightens vetting for CDL training schools

Emergency approval is being sought to tighten vetting for commercial driver license training schools. Officials found that programs removed for fraud often return to the Training Provider Registry using new names and updated contact details.

Under the proposed changes, schools must submit detailed records before they appear on the registry. They must also provide new documents whenever they open an additional training location.

Required materials include written lesson plans for classroom and driving instruction. Schools must prove their training vehicles match the equipment used for skills tests. They must also show instructor credentials and state authorization to operate.

The agency is currently reviewing eight hundred schools. Officials are sending notices to any provider that has not certified a driver training completion in the last twelve months. Nearly ten thousand training sites have already been closed during this enforcement push.

FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs stated the goal is to "root out the bad" in entry-level training programs. The emergency request bypasses standard rulemaking timelines to prevent unsafe drivers from entering commercial fleets while the formal rule is developed.

Source: Transport Topics — https://www.ttnews.com/articles/fmcsa-cdl-school-review