Aug 31, 2019

DeVos finalizes student debt restrictions

Orion Rummler

In this image, DeVos walks down a hallway with cameras and lights nearby. — Betsy DeVos in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 24. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos finalized her effort on Friday to make canceling student debt harder for federal loan borrowers if colleges defraud those students, Politico reports.

The big picture: The fight over DeVos's proposal to qualify the Obama-era rule has stretched on for almost the full length of Trump's presidency. 19 attorneys general sued DeVos over the plan in 2017. Her proposal is estimated to save taxpayers $11 billion over the next 10 years.

DeVos has emphasized that preventing fraud in higher education is a key reason for the rule.
In the 2017 lawsuit, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey argued that DeVos's rule "sided with for-profit school executives against students."

The bottom line: Loan forgiveness will be cut by almost $500 million annually under the new standard, the Department of Education estimates.

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DeVos finalizes student debt restrictions

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