AFT’s Weingarten on Biden Administration’s Relief for Students Defrauded by Corinthian Colleges

WASHINGTON—American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the Department of Education approved a $5.8 billion cancellation of loans for 560,000 borrowers deceived by Corinthian Colleges:

“This is a day of joy for the hundreds of thousands of borrowers who entrusted Corinthian Colleges with their future but instead were preyed upon, duped and defrauded by fake promises of jobs and a better life.

“It’s a momentous victory for the activists and AFT members who organized and mobilized for years to demand Corinthian be held to account. The AFT called for full cancellation of Corinthian debt in 2016, but that call was then shamefully ignored by Betsy DeVos, who proudly did the bidding of for-profit colleges and shafted the students harmed by them.

“Today we are reminded again that elections have consequences, and that the Biden-Harris administration is leading on the issue of student debt, including by reforming Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The vice president has led on this issue from the beginning, and we are confident a new wave of relief will further reduce the horrendous mountain of debt holding back far too many Americans.”