{"slug":"trump-first-term-betsy-devos-education-deregulation","title":"Betsy DeVos: Rollback of Student Borrower Protections, For-Profit College Deregulation","date":"2017-06-14","lastUpdated":"2020-08-10","description":"Betsy DeVos, Trump's Secretary of Education, systematically rolled back Obama-era regulations protecting student borrowers from fraud by for-profit colleges, delayed and restricted access to debt relief for defrauded students, weakened rules requiring colleges to demonstrate that graduates could find employment sufficient to repay their loans, reinstated accreditors that had been sanctioned for enabling diploma mills, and gave DeVry University and other for-profit institutions favorable regulatory treatment. Courts struck down several of her rules as arbitrary and capricious.","summary":"DeVos, a billionaire Michigan donor with ties to the for-profit education industry through her family's investment portfolio, was confirmed in February 2017 in a 50-50 Senate vote — the first cabinet confirmation requiring Vice President Pence's tiebreaking vote in history. She immediately moved to suspend the Obama administration's Borrower Defense to Repayment rules, which provided a path for students defrauded by schools to have their federal loans discharged. More than 100,000 borrower defense applications accumulated while DeVos's department delayed processing them. Courts found the delays violated federal law. She also rescinded the Gainful Employment rule that required for-profit programs to demonstrate graduates could earn enough to service their student debt.","category":"civil-rights","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/us/politics/betsy-devos-student-loan-forgiveness.html","title":"DeVos Is Defying a Court Order, Students Say. A Judge Agrees.","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/08/10/betsy-devos-borrower-defense-rule/","title":"DeVos finalizes new borrower defense rules, sharply limiting student debt relief","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/devos-student-loan-for-profit-college-deregulation","title":"DeVos rolls back protections for defrauded student borrowers","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://protectborrowers.org/research/devos-record/","title":"DeVos Education Department Record on Student Borrower Protections","publisher":"Student Borrower Protection Center"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["DeVos","education","first-term","civil-rights","for-profit-colleges","student-borrowers","deregulation"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2017-02-07","title":"DeVos confirmed 50-50 — Pence casts historic tiebreaker","summary":"DeVos is confirmed as Secretary of Education by a 50-50 Senate vote, the first time in history a Vice President had to cast a tiebreaking vote to confirm a cabinet nominee. Two Republican senators — Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins — voted against her."},{"date":"2017-06-14","title":"DeVos suspends Borrower Defense rules — 100,000 applications stall","summary":"The Department of Education suspends the Obama-era Borrower Defense to Repayment rules, halting processing of claims from students defrauded by institutions including Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech. More than 100,000 applications accumulate without action over subsequent years."},{"date":"2017-07-01","title":"Gainful Employment rule rescinded","summary":"DeVos rescinds the Gainful Employment rule that required for-profit programs to demonstrate graduates could earn enough to service their student debt. Critics argue the rescission removes a key accountability mechanism for predatory institutions."},{"date":"2019-06-25","title":"Federal judge holds DeVos in contempt — $100,000 per day fine","summary":"A federal judge holds the Department of Education in contempt for continuing to collect loan payments from defrauded Corinthian College students in violation of a court order to discharge their debts. The department is fined $100,000 per day. The department says it was an error."},{"date":"2020-08-10","title":"DeVos finalizes restrictive Borrower Defense rules — courts later strike provisions","summary":"DeVos finalizes new Borrower Defense regulations that significantly limit student debt relief eligibility, including means testing and partial relief frameworks. Courts subsequently strike down several provisions as arbitrary and capricious. The Biden administration later rescinds the DeVos rules and processes the accumulated claims."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"active-litigation","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Students defrauded by for-profit colleges who were denied debt relief they were legally entitled to; low-income and minority students disproportionately targeted by predatory for-profit institutions; taxpayers whose federal loan dollars funded institutions producing graduates with non-serviceable debt","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Betsy DeVos","role":"Secretary of Education; suspended and restricted Borrower Defense to Repayment rules; rescinded Gainful Employment rule; delayed processing 100,000+ borrower defense claims; reinstated sanctioned accreditors; courts found her department's actions violated federal law in multiple rulings","institution":"Department of Education"},{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; nominated DeVos knowing her connections to the for-profit education industry and her lack of public education experience; stood behind her policies through multiple court losses","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-08-10","summary":"Based on August 2020 finalization of DeVos borrower defense rules."}]}}