Published: March 2016

What is the Department of Education waiting for?

In a letter to the Department of Education, coalition advocates urge the department to discharge the federal loans of students who were scammed and defrauded under current regulations more quickly and efficiently. The group also proposes regulations that will make it easier, not harder, for such borrowers to get the relief they are entitled to under existing law.

Consumer Action joined coalition advocates in drafting a letter to the Department of Education that expresses deep concern regarding the slow pace and small number of discharges that have been processed for students who have been mislead and defrauded by their school. Many of the department’s proposals in the current negotiated rulemaking process move in the wrong direction, reducing eligibility for relief, pitting students against schools, and creating unnecessary burdens on students and the Department.

In light of the recent bankruptcy and campus shutdowns of Corinthian Colleges and several other for-profit colleges, coalition advocates urge the Education Department to develop a proactive strategy that would provide all defrauded students immediate relief instead of prolonging their restitution.

Lead Organization

The Institute of College and Success (TICAS)

Other Organizations

American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO | American for Financial Reform | Association of the United States Navy (AUSN) | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of California | Consumers Union | Demos | The Education Trust | Empire Justice Center | Faculty Forward Network | Initiative to Protect Student Veterans | The Institute for College Access & Success | League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) | Mississippi Center for Justice | NAACP | National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low-income clients National Consumers League | NCLR (National Council of La Raza) | New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) | NYPIRG | Public Advocates Inc. | Public Counsel | Public Good Law Center | Public Law Center | Service Employees International Union (SEIU) | Student Debt Crisis | University of San Diego School of Law Veterans Legal Clinic Veterans for Common Sense | Veterans’ Student Loan Relief Fund | VetJobs VetsFirst, a program of United Spinal Association | Vietnam Veterans of America | Young Invincibles

More Information

To read the full coalition letter, please click here.

For more information, visit TICAS' website.

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