The Borrower's Defense Rule, a law designed to help erase student loan debt for borrowers who attended fraudulent institutions, was meant to go into effect on July 1. Instead, the United States Department of Education (ED) placed an indefinite delay on the regulation and released a statement noting that the rule would be replaced. Now 19 attorney generals from 18 states (and the District of Columbia) are now suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the ED.
The law, signed by Former President Barack Obama back in November of 2016, could have a price tag of more than $32 billion dollars, the formal complaint states. That cost represents the amount taxpayers invested in for-profit colleges during the 2009-10 academic year. The plaintiffs also say that the law was canceled without public consultation or debate by the delay notice from the ED.
According to the complaint, states are looking for a timely implementation of the rule which they say, “improves the remedies available for violations of state law, deters misconduct by educational institutions, and protects the wellbeing of the States’ respective residents.” The 18 states involved in the suit are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.
