6/14/2017

CABINET/EDUCATION/TRUMP PEOPLE/BETSY DEVOS: “The Trump administration is delaying new rules that would erase the federal loan debt of student borrowers cheated by for-profit colleges.
The announcement by the Education Department on Wednesday came just weeks before the rules, finalized during the Obama administration, were to take effect on July 1.
The new rules stood to benefit students from failed for-profit colleges already seeking to have their loans forgiven, as well as others who might be eligible to do so. They also established tougher standards intended to check the flow of further federal funds to rogue for-profit operators.
‘My first priority is to protect students,’ Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said in a statement issued by the department. ‘Fraud, especially fraud committed by a school, is simply unacceptable. Unfortunately, last year’s rulemaking effort missed an opportunity to get it right. The result is a muddled process that’s unfair to students and schools, and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs.’ “

-Patricia Cohen, “U.S. Halts New Rules Aimed at Abuses by For-Profit Schools,” The New York Times online, June 14, 2017