Late last week, the U.S. Department of Education released its final borrower defense rule, an updated rule which will make it much harder for students who were defrauded or taken advantage of by their college or university to receive financial relief or otherwise hold the school accountable. 

In response to the new borrower defense rule, Rachel Fleischer, Executive Director of Young Invincibles, released the following statement:

“More than ever, a higher education is the best path for a young person to find a job that helps them achieve their financial goals and build a stable life. But too many schools have failed to meet their obligation to the young people who invested in their education, leaving 180,000 borrowers buried in debt with degrees that won’t help them find a job. 

For years, the Trump Administration and Betsy DeVos’ Department of Education have ignored these defrauded borrowers as they struggle to get the debt relief they’re owed after being misled or defrauded by their school. Rather than defend these students, this rule has once again propped up predatory for-profit colleges at the expense of borrowers by making it even harder for them to get the relief they deserve. While the Trump Administration has repeatedly refused to hold colleges and universities accountable, this new rule is a dereliction of their duty to protect young people as they pursue their higher education.

Without robust protections for borrowers — and an administration willing to actually enforce them — predatory, for-profit colleges will continue exploiting students and taking advantage of the wild west mentality that has defined Betsy DeVos’ time at the Department of Education.”