- A group of 23 Democratic AGs, led by California AG Xavier Becerra and Massachusetts AG Maura Healey, sued Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education (collectively “ED”) over ED’s repeal and replacement of the Obama-era Borrower Defense Rule.
- The complaint alleges that ED’s new rule is in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because it is contrary to the mandate of the Higher Education Act, which requires the creation of a process to allow students misled or deceived by predatory for-profit colleges to obtain relief from their federal student loans. According to the complaint, the new regulations make obtaining student debt relief virtually impossible. The complaint also alleges that the new regulations roll back oversight over for-profit colleges, thereby encouraging predatory behavior.
- The complaint seeks declaratory relief and asks the court to vacate the new rule in its entirety.