19 AGs sue DeVos on decision to delay for-profit college rules

WASHINGTON— Democratic attorneys general in 18 states and the District of Columbia are suing Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her decision to suspend rules meant to protect students from abuses by for-profit colleges.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Washington and demands implementation of a regulation known as the borrower defense to repayment.

The rule, which dates to the 1990s, wipes away federal loans for students whose colleges used illegal or deceptive tactics to get them to borrow money to attend. The Obama administration revised it last year to simplify the claims process and shift more of the cost of discharging loans onto schools.

Before the changes could take effect July 1, DeVos suspended them last month and said she would convene a new rule-making committee to rewrite the borrower defense regulation, reviving a process that took nearly two years to complete.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is leading the lawsuit and says DeVos’ decision is “a betrayal of her office’s responsibility and a violation of federal law.”

The Education Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

DeVos earlier said the delay was necessary as the department fought a federal lawsuit by a group of for-profit colleges in California seeking to block the rules.

The secretary also said the Obama administration created “a muddled process that’s unfair to students and schools, and puts taxpayers on the hook for significant costs.”

But consumer advocates and liberal lawmakers contend that the changes achieve exactly the opposite.