Hello,

Time and again, Betsy DeVos has shown just how determined she is to help her friends who run predatory for-profit colleges, no matter the cost to the students she has taken an oath to serve. This summer was no exception, when her Department of Education released a new regulation that would further hurt students already defrauded by for-profit colleges, in a callous one-two punch.

But now Congress has an opportunity to repeal this shameful rule. Tell Congress: Reject DeVos’ effort to help for-profit college executives while hurting students!

The “borrower defense to repayment” rule is meant to protect student borrowers who have been defrauded by their colleges, by canceling their student loans. The Obama administration formalized those rights in the fall of 2016. But when DeVos became secretary of education, she attempted to undermine this rule, even being held in contempt of court for continuing collections on some student loans that should’ve been canceled.

Instead of supporting students, DeVos has attacked these defrauded borrowers, limiting their loan forgiveness by millions of dollars and forcing arbitration clauses that erased their rights. For many affected students—so many of whom are veterans, first-generation college students, and people of color—it’s a double whammy: Not only are their finances and careers wrecked by having worthless degrees, they have no way to seek justice because DeVos has callously changed the rules.

DeVos’ rewrite eliminates the possibility for group claims, forcing individual borrowers to come forward with evidence, a tactic meant to stop people fighting back together. The rule also imposes a new three-year time limit on claims. The DeVos rule guts protections for students to the benefit of predatory colleges.

While DeVos’ version of the rule will force hundreds of thousands of students defrauded by for-profit colleges to suffer yet another indignity, Congress is poised to vote on whether it should be repealed.

It’s time for Congress to stand up for students and reject Betsy DeVos’ higher education agenda. Tell your lawmakers to vote to repeal the DeVos borrower defense rule!

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT President