When colleges rip off students, who should be held accountable?

The law says executives and owners of fraudulent for-profit colleges can be held liable. So why aren't they?

View this email online March 6, 2022 This week, we looked at defrauded college students, the State of the Union, and Mardi Gras. Plus, a school that's very ready to drop masks.  Hanna Barczyk for NPR Happy Sunday, Cory here. I hope you’re all well and remembering to love the people who depend on you and to let them love you. Sorry. I talk like that. My kids hate it. Now, news. Between President Biden’s State of the Union and the increasingly grim news pouring out of Ukraine, I don’t blame you if you’ve not had the headspace for other news. But I want to take two minutes here to do a little counterprogramming: to tell you about a story you won’t find anywhere else, that took several months to report and that we published this week. The story’s animated by a pretty basic question: When colleges defraud students, by making false promises about future job prospects and dreamy salaries, should the government personally go after school executives and owners? After all, it wasn’t that long ago that the epic collapses of Corinthian Colleges and ITT Technical Institute cost students and U.S. taxpayers roughly a $1 billion dollars in wasted loans and worthless degrees. In fact, just last month the U.S. Department of Education announced it would erase more than $70 million in student loans for former DeVry University students who had been misled by the school's false advertising. Here’s the problem: While the department has the authority – the legal power – to hold fraudulent schools’ executives, owners and investors personally liable for the wreckage they leave behind, especially when their schools fail, it’s simply never done it. Not once. Why? And will the Biden Administration break that precedent? You can read the full story by clicking the button below.  — Cory Turner, Correspondent, NPR Ed Read More Now, let’s get into some news…  President Biden renewed calls for spending on child care, universal pre-K, and an extension of the Child Tax Credit during the State of the Union address. Repeating a standard laid out in the stalled Build Back Better proposal, Biden again said that middle-class and working families (those earning up to 250% of state median income) shouldn't have to pay more than 7% of their income for child care. He also said his plan could cut the cost of child care "in half for most families." The president didn't go into details in the speech, but the administration thinks its child care subsidies can expand access to some 20 million children by using his BBB as a roadmap. Read more here. — Cory Turner, Correspondent, NPR Ed Newsletter continues after sponsor message Transgender girls and women are now barred from female sports in Iowa. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed a law that bans transgender girls and women from competing in sports according to their gender identity. The measure applies to public and private K-12 schools and community colleges and colleges and universities affiliated with the NCAA and NAIA. The law's backers say it's intended to ensure fair competition among girls and women. But opponents call it a discriminatory attempt to sideline transgender students who make up a small fraction of athletes in the state and do not pose the competitive threat that supporters claim. Read more here. — Grant Gerlock, Iowa Public Radio   Aubri Juhasz/WWNO Mardi Gras parades are back in New Orleans after a pandemic hiatus. And over the last week and a half, the city's beloved high school bands have returned to the streets. And while that's made the return of Mardi Gras this year all the more exciting, the interruption also had consequences. Read more here. — Aubri Juhasz, WWNO And before you go, tomorrow, tomorrow, it's only a day away… Who else is ready to live in a world without masks? If you’re like the students and teachers of Joseph Case High School, then you’re not only prepared for a mask optional world, you’re singing show tunes about it. One class made a rendition of Annie’s “Tomorrow,” singing lyrics like, “tomorrow, tomorrow, we have options, tomorrow, our faces are here to stay.” The song is, of course, a response to COVID-19 cases dropping in some parts of the country, which has prompted leaders to drop mask mandates in some schools and public places. Want to watch it? Click here.  See you next week. Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WBEZ (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: npred@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Politics, Code Switch and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Education emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy