Other LanguagesOLYMPIA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson issued the following statement on the Department of Education’s decision to delay the implementation of the new borrower defense to repayment regulations:
“Today’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Education will delay important new rules that protect student loan borrowers from predatory and deceptive practices by higher education institutions is deeply troubling. As Washington’s chief law enforcement officer, I have worked tirelessly to protect student loan borrowers, and I strongly support the revised rules that were set to take effect on July 1.
“The protections delayed by the Trump Administration and Secretary DeVos include:
- Prohibitions on schools forcing students to pursue complaints in arbitration rather than in court;
- Prohibitions on schools requiring students to waive participation in class action lawsuits; and
- The provision of automatic relief and group relief for defrauded federal student loan borrowers in certain circumstances, including following legal actions by state attorneys general.
“As findings of widespread fraud and misrepresentation by Corinthian Colleges make clear, we need to do more to protect students who took out loans to pay for education they did not receive, and to ensure that there are meaningful avenues for relief when they are left paying for promises that never materialized.
“This decision hurts students while helping those schools that systematically defraud students. It is disappointing that, once again, this Administration chooses to turn its back on borrowers in need of assistance and protection. I intend to use all of the legal tools at my disposal to continue to protect student loan borrowers in Washington.”
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The Office of the Attorney General is the chief legal office for the state of Washington with attorneys and staff in 27 divisions across the state providing legal services to roughly 200 state agencies, boards and commissions. Visit www.atg.wa.gov to learn more.
Contacts:
Brionna Aho, Interim Communications Director, (360) 753-2727; brionna.aho@atg.wa.gov