News
ITT Tech Students Score Victory in Bankruptcy Settlement | Washington Post
As creditors of ITT Educational Services fight over the remaining assets of the defunct for-profit college operator, one group has secured a significant victory in the bankruptcy proceedings: former students. On Wednesday, a federal judge gave final approval to a settlement that will erase nearly $600 million that 750,000 students owed ITT Technical Institute. The agreement, which was first announced in January, will also refund $3 million that students paid the for-profit chain.
Update | New York Times Highlights Project on Predatory Student Lending Cases and Clients
A recent story in the New York Times highlighted several of the Project’s cases, and their prominence in the ongoing battle to force the Department of Education to recognize the legal rights of students who have been cheated by predatory for-profit colleges.
Borrowers Face Hazy Path as Program to Forgive Student Loans Stalls Under Betsy DeVos | New York Times
The students attended institutions with pragmatic names like the Minnesota School of Business and others whose branding evoked ivy-draped buildings and leafy quads, like Corinthian Colleges. Tens of thousands of them say they are alike in one respect: They were victims of fraud, left with useless degrees and crushing debts.
Update | A Winning Streak For Student Borrowers
After years of delay by the Department of Education, student borrowers represented by the Project on Predatory Student Lending are finally winning their rights in courts. On four separate occasions this month, judges rebuked the Department, struck down illegal policies, and ruled in favor of students.
Project on Predatory Student Lending and Southern Poverty Law Center Assert Voice of Students in Education Corporation of America’s Dispute with Department of Education | Press Release
The Project on Predatory Student Lending and the Southern Poverty Law Center have asked to weigh in on a dispute between Education Corporation of America, owner of several struggling for-profit college chains including Virginia College and Brightwood College, and the Department of Education.
Judge Declares Department of Education’s Seizure of Corinthian Colleges Borrowers’ Tax Refunds Illegal | Press Release
A federal judge ruled that the Department of Education illegally took the tax refunds of two former Corinthian College students to pay their student loans, without addressing the assertion that these loans are fraudulent and unenforceable. Now, the Department may not take their tax refunds unless and until it makes a reasoned decision about the assertions of fraud.
What Defrauded Student Loan Borrowers Need to Know | U.S. News & World Report
Defrauded student loan borrowers will see some relief, thanks to an Obama-era rule a federal judge ordered immediately implemented Tuesday. The 2016 borrower defense rule outlines a way for student borrowers to apply for loan forgiveness if they were defrauded or misled by their college.
Betsy DeVos Loses Major Battle Over Obama’s Student Loan Protections | Salon
Donald Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, just lost a major court battle over consumer protections for Americans who take out student loans. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss decided against the request from a group representing for-profit colleges to end regulations that help defrauded students receive federal loan forgiveness and forbid colleges from requiring students to go to arbitration to resolve complaints instead of taking matters to court, according to Politico.
Student Vets Win Too as Court Unchains Obama Loan Protection | Stars and Stripes
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of student veterans, despite having robust GI Bill education benefits, contend they were deceived into racking up federal loan debt through abusive practices of certain for-profit colleges. On Tuesday these students, along with thousands of non-veterans, gained an easier path to loan forgiveness from a federal court ruling in Washington, D.C.