Department of Education, Consumer Organization Agree to Settle Borrower Defense Claims

Inside Higher Education is reporting that the U.S. Department of Education and a consumer advocacy organization have reached an agreement to settle approximately 170,000 borrower defense claims for students alleging misrepresentation on the part of their institutions.

From Inside Higher Education: "If approved by a federal court in California, the settlement would end a case filed in June 2019, when consumer groups complained the department under Secretary Betsy DeVos had not decided any borrower-defense claims, filed by students at for-profit institutions, in a year. Many had been waiting more than four years for a decision, said Harvard University's Legal Services Center’s Project on Predatory Student Lending, which filed the suit with another group, Housing & Economic Rights Advocates."

Read the terms of the settlement here.