House progressives say Biden administration should use executive power to curb for-profit college ‘predatory behavior’

Dive Transient:

• A few of the most progressive Home lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to wield govt energy to “curb predatory behaviors” amongst for-profit schools.
• The Congressional Progressive Caucus on Thursday released its wishlist of coverage actions for the White Home to take. Among the many suggestions was denying poorly performing schools entry to federal scholar monetary assist.
• The lawmakers additionally mentioned the U.S. Division of Training ought to warn college students who apply to “low-value” schools — ones that depart them with excessive debt and low earnings potential.

Dive Perception:

Progressives have lengthy backed most of the training priorities on the Home lawmakers’ record. 

Improved scholar client protections have been proposed by progressives together with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat who chairs the Home Progressive Caucus. 

The continued emphasis on these points doubtless alerts extra partisan debate round them. On for-profit schools, for example, some congressional progressives have known as for extra oversight. Republicans have accused Democrats and the Biden administration of beginning a witch hunt in opposition to these establishments.

Researchers have documented how some for-profit schools depart college students with unmanageable money owed and poor pay. Left-leaning suppose tank Third Manner found in 2021 that greater than 60% of for-profit establishments “present their low-income college students incomes lower than the typical highschool graduate inside 10 years of getting into their establishment.”

Jason Altmire, president and CEO of Profession Training Schools and Universities, which represents for-profit establishments, mentioned in an emailed assertion that “accountability measures have to be utilized to all colleges in all sectors to make sure each scholar is ready to profit from the identical federal protections, no matter the kind of establishment they select to attend.”

The Biden administration has already began pushing for extra client protections. It’s presently drafting a regulation meant to make sure college students who full profession education schemes can discover work and repay their loans. The proposal, known as “gainful employment,” is due to be released this month.

Home progressives additionally urged the Training Division to expedite and strengthen this rule, a model of which was put in place by the Obama administration and rescinded by the Trump administration.

The lawmakers of their wishlist additionally referenced a “low-value school record,” which the Biden administration mentioned it plans to launch at an unspecified time. That is partially a technique to publicly disgrace poorly performing establishments, pundits have mentioned. 

“With a divided Congress, President Biden should make full use of his govt authority to proceed to ship for working households,” Jayapal said in a statement.