Department of Education To Roll Back Protections for Defrauded Students and Eliminate Accountability Measure for Career Education Programs

The Department of Education will delay the Borrower Defense rule and begin a new negotiated rulemaking process to weaken and possibly eliminate the rule altogether. The Borrower Defense rule provides an easier process for defrauded borrowers to apply for loan discharge, bans mandatory arbitration clauses in enrollment contracts, requires mandatory disclosures from troubled schools to their students about legal actions pending against them, and establish triggers that may require schools to set aside funds to reimburse taxpayers in the case of future malfeasance or closure.  Additionally, the Department is expected to begin a new negotiated rulemaking process on the Gainful Employment rule, which holds schools accountable by requiring all schools receiving federal funding to publish information about student outcomes, including how much graduates typically earn and how much debt they have. It also holds institutions accountable-by requiring those that consistently produce high debt borrowers who cannot repay to improve or lose federal funding.