Students first

DeVos is protective of the wrong people

The value of an independent American judiciary was proven again recently when a federal judge threw out the attempt by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to eviscerate the protections for former students of for-profit colleges.

U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington, D.C., ruled that Ms. DeVos’ decision to freeze Obama-era protections for defrauded students was illegal.

Students claimed in a lawsuit that they were defrauded by for-profit schools. They were supported by Democratic attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

The department may still try to implement new regulations that weaken student protections. And the department will certainly appeal the ruling.

The regulations date to the Obama administration which cracked down on for-profit colleges that misled students about job and salary prospects and left them with few skills and large student loans. They led to two major for-profit college chains being closed down, tens of thousands of their students having their loans fully forgiven, and new regulations implemented to police the schools and help students get refunds.

Ms. DeVos contends that the protections were unfair to taxpayers who ended up paying for students who weren’t even harmed. She said that students should be expected to do some research before agreeing to borrow money for a college degree. She has a point. But Ms. DeVos’s overly solicitous concern for the interests of entrepreneurial colleges is strange. As secretary of education, she should be looking out for the interests of students first.

The only justification for government, especially a federal department of education, is that it helps people. The Department of Education should be concerned with programs and regulations that promote teaching and learning, and protect naive young people from fraud.