House Democrats Introduce Bill to Reinstate Gainful Employment Rule

By Joelle Fredman, NASFAA Staff Reporter

Two House Democrats introduced a bill late last week to reinstate the Obama-era gainful employment (GE) regulations that the Department of Education (ED) eliminated last month. While the rule — or lack thereof — does not take effect until July 2020, some institutions have already begun early implementation.

In their bill — the Student and Taxpayer Protection Act — Reps. Mark Takano (D-CA) and Donna Shalala (D-FL) proposed that ED revive the practice of tying Title IV eligibility for non-degree-granting programs to their students’ ability to repay their loan debt, or their debt-to-earnings ratios. Since the Obama administration first attempted to implement GE regulations in 2010, they have been highly criticized. While some said they unfairly targeted for-profit institutions and that they should be applied to all institutions, others worried that the regulations were overly burdensome.

“Failure by [ED] to put students first requires Congress to step in and ensure that every student has access to a quality and affordable education and to hold predatory for-profit institutions accountable for taking advantage of students and providing them with… (continue reading)