Predatory Schools Keep Trying to Rip Off Students Amid Economic Meltdown, Pandemic
Statements From Attorneys Representing Students
Note: A group of for-profit colleges on Tuesday appealed a federal court decision upholding a U.S. Department of Education rule from 2016 intended to stop schools from forcing defrauded students into secretive, out-of-court arbitrations. Lawyers from Public Citizen and the Project on Predatory Student Lending representing for-profit college students in the case are condemning the move. Read more about the case.
“It’s outrageous that for-profit schools are still fighting to continue ripping off students, given the perilous financial circumstances student borrowers are facing due to the economic meltdown brought on by COVID-19. The district court explained that this was ‘an easy case,’ but these schools have no shame. They’re still trying to strike down a 2016 rule that ensures students can seek debt relief from schools that have defrauded them.”
- Adam Pulver, attorney, Public Citizen
“For-profit colleges have a history of using economic downturns to peddle their bogus products to people who are vulnerable and looking for opportunity. The fact that the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools (CAPPS) is actively trying to restrict the rights of students who were defrauded by their schools during a time of unprecedented economic uncertainty is both telling and outrageous. We will keep representing student borrowers asserting their rights, even as predatory for-profit colleges seek to take them away.”
- Toby Merrill, director, The Project on Predatory Student Lending