AFT Blasts Trump on Actions Involving Predatory For-Profit Schools

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on the Trump administration’s announcement to delay “borrower defense” rules to help defrauded student loan borrowers and to rewrite those rules as well as “gainful employment” rules that have helped to curb these schools from preying on and defrauding students:

“The Trump administration’s actions today show that the White House stands with predatory for-profit schools, not the students they rip off. About the only thing worse than ripping off students with worthless degrees from for-profit colleges is denying them help to relieve their substantial debt, and allowing the schools to continue to prey on students. Given that for-profit colleges were big donors to Trump and other Republican candidates, one wonders whether this is simply a new pay-to-play scheme at the expense of our students, including our veterans, who are much helped by the rules Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wants to eliminate.

“The Obama-era ‘borrower defense’ rule, which the administration now wants to delay and  rewrite, would have allowed eligible students to be relieved of their student loan debt from unscrupulous for-profit colleges, such as Corinthian Colleges and ITT Tech. Thank goodness, state attorneys general are standing up for students and seeking to block the delay. The ‘gainful employment’ rule would shut down schools that do not provide an education that could lead to gainful employment.

“Trump and DeVos are sanctioning predatory practices that have allowed rip-off artists to wreak havoc on tens of thousands of students who just wanted to get a decent education that would lead to a good job. President Trump had to shut down his own fake university and reimburse defrauded students; he should have learned his lesson.

“As the nation’s largest union of higher education workers, we will continue to advocate on behalf of students and ensure they have access to high-quality programs that prepare them for the jobs of today and tomorrow.”