Donate Now: Aid to Latino Families of Baltimore Bridge Tragedy Donate Here
* 100% of the proceeds will go directly to the families impacted by the devastating Baltimore bridge collapse.

Gainful Employment Regulation Language Provides Important Accountability But Misses the Mark

March 18, 2014

Contact: Paloma Zuleta, pzuleta at LULAC.org, (202) 812-4477

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, LULAC Executive Director, Brent Wilkes, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed “gainful employment” regulation, released last Friday.

“The proposed gainful employment regulation released by the Department of Education is a first step in creating the necessary checks and balances to ensure that the for-profit education institutions with career education programs accurately represent these programs to students seeking higher education. As proposed, the regulation would require covered programs to fully disclose costs, debt levels, employment outcomes, as well as ensure that programs meet full accreditation and professional licensing requirements.

“Unfortunately, the proposed regulation would do nothing to provide relief to students who have already been scammed by unscrupulous for-profit educational institutions. In fact, while previous versions of the gainful employment regulation provided some hope of debt relief, this latest version includes no such language, a win for the for-profit industry, and a real disappointment for Latino students struggling to find work with useless degrees.

“In the past, LULAC has urged President Obama and the Department of Education to hold the for profit industry accountable. The unscrupulous practices used by the for profit industry have been well documented by interested parties and those practices have left countless of Latino students with worthless degrees, as well as, saddled with student loan debt.

“Last month over 150 LULAC members visited Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of a strong gainful employment regulation with their Members of Congress. LULAC will be calling on its 135,000 members to weigh-in during the 60-day comment period to ensure that the voices of the Latino community are heard. Our members will make clear that federal financial aid should not go to for-profits which consistently leave students buried in debt and with degrees that could never provide any hope of professional advancement or economic success.”

About LULAC:
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 900 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org.

###