18 Dem AGs sue DeVos for blocking Obama for-profit college rule

Eighteen Democratic attorneys general are suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for refusing to enforce an Obama-era rule meant to protect students from predatory career college programs, BuzzFeed News reported Tuesday.

The attorneys general from 17 states and D.C. filed suit against Tuesday after DeVos blocked and then promised to undo an Obama-era rule called “gainful employment.”

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It would have stopped federal financial aid funding from going to career college programs at for-profit colleges that leave students with low income and massive debt loads.

The lawsuit alleges that DeVos is violating federal law by not enforcing the rule, BuzzFeed reported.

The Education Department called the legal action “the latest in a string of frivolous lawsuits filed by Democratic attorneys general who are only seeking to score quick political points.”

“While this administration, and Secretary DeVos in particular, continue work to replace this broken rule with one that actually protects students, these legal stunts do nothing more than divert time and resources away from that effort,” Education Department spokeswoman Liz Hill said in a statement to BuzzFeed.

DeVos said earlier this year that she would delay enforcement of the regulation, which meant schools could avoid following requirements like telling students that their programs were in violation of the rules.

She later announced that she would establish a new regulation that would completely remove the rule, according to BuzzFeed.

This isn’t the first time state attorneys general have sued DeVos for rescinding Obama-era regulations. Nineteen Democratic state attorneys general sued the Education secretary in July after she rescinded student loan regulations designed to protect student loan borrowers.