Staff Reports
Federal overreach is nothing new, but under the Biden administration, it’s reached an all-time high—and it’s wreaking havoc on both for-profit and nonprofit educational institutions. Burdened by a slew of convoluted new rules, these schools are now forced to fight for survival in courtrooms instead of classrooms. Career Education Colleges and Universities, a top advocacy group for private education institutions, has stepped up to challenge the administration’s so-called borrower defense provisions and the infamous Bare Minimum Rule.
Among those grappling with these draconian regulations is Keiser University. The school argues that the Biden administration’s policies appear less about protecting students and more about pushing an ideological agenda that favors free higher education, essentially leaving private institutions in the lurch. Calls for the federal government to butt out and let schools provide market-driven education seem to have fallen on deaf ears in the current administration.
One of the most contentious issues at hand is the borrower defense to repayment rule, which the administration implemented in 2022. This rule would allow student borrowers to apply for loan forgiveness under various murky criteria, and it puts the Department of Education in the driver’s seat, judge, jury, and executioner all rolled into one. If they decide a school acted fraudulently, they can discharge the loans and recoup the funds from the schools. Career Education Colleges and Universities have rightly backed a lawsuit to stop this bureaucratic overreach, and thankfully, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed, putting a halt to the rule’s enforcement.
Next on the chopping block is the laughably named Bare Minimum Rule. Under this mandate, for-profit schools must stick strictly to state-mandated training hours to qualify for federal student aid. Never mind that real-world training often requires more hours to truly prepare students for the workforce. Apparently, the administration would prefer poorly trained job seekers flooding the market rather than allowing schools the flexibility to prepare students adequately. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has temporarily enjoined this rule, but the battle is far from over.
Also targeted is the Gainful Employment rule, which aims to curtail career programs that allegedly fail to lead to meaningful employment. This Big Brother approach disregards the actual value that these programs provide in empowering students with real-world skills. The cosmetology schools bringing this lawsuit argue the rule is nothing more than a veiled attack on the proprietary education sector, driven by flawed data and harmful to small businesses that create jobs and opportunities.
Feds target for-profit, nonprofit schools over difference in ideology, education experts sayhttps://t.co/oeZCSAMQul pic.twitter.com/a4guDKFGbK
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) July 18, 2024
Adding insult to injury, Grand Canyon University finds itself in a legal quagmire with the Department of Education over its status as a nonprofit institution. Despite being recognized as a nonprofit by both the IRS and the state of Arizona, the Department of Education continues to classify it as a for-profit entity. This misclassification subjects the university to stricter guidelines and has led to hefty fines and a spate of lawsuits. The school is fighting back, claiming the feds’ actions are retaliatory and punitive, a claim bolstered by the Cato Institute’s assessment.
In summary, the Biden administration’s heavy-handed regulations are stifling educational institutions that operate outside the government-run model. These schools are resisting, backed by court rulings that recognize the unlawfulness of the new rules. For now, the courts are the only arena where common sense prevails—a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak landscape for education.
