Today at a public hearing at the Department of Education, AFR’s senior policy analyst gave testimony about the need to reinstate the Memorandum of Understanding with the CFPB, ended by Secretary DeVos to widespread criticism.
Americans for Financial Reform strongly condemns the decision by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to abandon the victims of predatory colleges by delaying the Borrower Defense rule. This is a slap in the face to defrauded Americans, and a stunning admission by the Department of Education that they intend to place wealthy for-profit college executives ahead of students striving for a better life.
Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) applauds the news that the Department of Education will grant automatic discharges to all former students of American Career Institute (ACI) in Massachusetts. Before being confirmed, any nominee for Secretary of the Department of Education must clearly articulate plans to rapidly pursue additional automatic group discharges, to ensure that all Americans are protected from future exploitation of taxpayer-backed loans by predatory schools.
AFR welcomes the news that the Department of Education has finalized a rule that will prohibit the use of forced arbitration at schools. We hope that as the Department moves forward to procedural guidance and to enforcement that it does everything possible to ensure that no defrauded borrower be left buried in debt from a school that broke the law, betrayed its students, and cheated taxpayers.
AFR submitted comments to the Department of Education suggesting ways to ensure that their borrower defense proposal can truly provide a fair and transparent processes for students seeking debt relief following illegal acts by their schools.
Over 10,000 members of Americans for Financial Reform signed a petition calling on the Department to provide full loan relief to defrauded students, provide automatic loan cancellation when there is sufficient evidence of a school’s wrongdoing, not impose time limits on relief for defrauded borrowers, and close gaping loopholes allowing unscrupulous schools to prevent injured students from having their day in court.
“We continue to believe that the Department should be providing automatic group relief for wronged Corinthian students, rather than pursuing the application-based, piecemeal approach it has taken to discharges thus far.”
“For years, advocates have urged the Department of Education to relieve the staggering debt of students who attended for-profit colleges like Corinthian which broke the law. Today, the Department released a forward-looking proposal outlining how students who were victims of illegal acts by their school may pursue a ‘borrower defense to repayment,’ or cancellation of the debt on their federal student loans. We look forward to working with the Department to improve the final proposal so that all students victimized by unlawful and deceptive conduct receive every penny of relief they deserve.”