AUSTIN (LN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday opened a statewide investigation into multiple trucking schools for allegedly endangering the public by certifying non-English speakers and inadequately trained commercial drivers, sending civil investigative demands to five companies.

Paxton’s office issued Civil Investigative Demands to EP Texas Trucking School, Trucker Certified LLC, Fast Track CDL LLC, CDLCALL.COM LLC and Lindenwood Education System.

Federal regulations require commercial driver’s license holders to read and speak English sufficiently to converse with the public, understand traffic signs and respond to official inquiries. Texas and federal law also mandate that training providers ensure students are prepared to safely operate commercial motor vehicles in compliance with safety standards.

Preliminary findings suggest some schools are disregarding those rules. EP Trucking tells prospective students that English proficiency is not necessary to complete the program and advertises its services in Spanish. Several entities under investigation have falsely claimed to be certified schools, according to the attorney general’s office.

Some programs advertise accelerated training timelines as short as 20 days, well below the industry norm of three to seven weeks. Paxton’s office said those actions indicate insufficient instruction and evaluation.

The attorney general’s office said the conduct violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and poses a significant risk to public safety.

“Putting non-English speakers behind the wheel of 18-wheelers in America can pose serious threats to public safety,” said Attorney General Paxton. “My office is thoroughly investigating these trucking schools, and I am taking this matter very seriously. I will fight to ensure that Texans are safe and that only qualified, English-speaking truckers are operating commercial vehicles on our roads.”

EP Texas Trucking School has locations in Odessa and El Paso. Trucker Certified operates in Pampa, Amarillo, Plainview and Borger. Fast Track CDL is located in Garland. CDLCALL operates in San Antonio, and Ancora has a main office in Arlington. The schools likely send graduates to trucking companies across the state, including major freight hubs such as Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston.