NCLC Attorney to Testify at U.S. Department of Education In Support of Important Protections against For-Profit School Fraud

For Immediate Release: July 10, 2017 || Contact: Jan Kruse (jkruse(at)nclc.org) or 617.542.8010

Student Borrower Defense and Gainful Employment Rules Would Hold Predatory Schools Accountable to Students and Taxpayers

BOSTON – Today, National Consumer Law Center attorney Joanna Darcus will testify at a public hearing at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. in support of protecting students and taxpayers from fraud and abuse through strong borrower defense and gainful employment regulations. Read her testimony.

Joanna Darcus made the following statement regarding her July 10 testimony:

“We implore the Department of Education to stop stalling and fully implement the borrower defense and gainful employment rules now. We cannot allow the Department’s desire to rewrite these rules distract us from the present, pressing need for relief. National Consumer Law Center clients were ripped off by fraudulent schools. Now, they languish in despair and default while the Department delays implementation of these critical protections that can stamp out predatory programs and help students rebuild their lives.

“The borrower defense and gainful employment regulations protect students, student loan borrowers, taxpayers, and schools that do right by the students they serve. We are particularly concerned that the Department’s delay of these rules will cause further harm to veterans, low-income students, and students of color because fraudulent programs so often target them. And many of these vulnerable students who were derailed by predatory schools need student loan relief to put them back on track to obtain the financial stability they hoped education would provide. For their sakes, and to protect other students and student loan borrowers, we insist on strong rules and oppose any effort to dilute them.”

Related NCLC Materials

Blog post by Joanna Darcus: Important Student Protections Now at Risk: Department of Education Announces Rewrite of Brand-New Borrower Defense and Gainful Employment Rules, July 5, 2017

NCLC comments to the U.S. Department of Education supporting these critical student protections will be submitted on July12, 2017, and will be available at: http://bit.ly/2u0EEu3