Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Education
Durbin, King, Smith Secure $5 Million For Competitive Grants Supporting Open Textbooks In FY19 Funding Bill
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angus King (I-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN) today applauded the inclusion of a provision allocating $5 million in additional funding for the continued implementation of the Open Textbooks Pilot in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Department of Defense, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Education Appropriations package. The Open Textbooks Pilot, based on the Senator's Affordable College Textbook Act, is a … Continue Reading
August 30, 2018
Durbin, Warren, Blumenthal, Brown Seek Response To Allegations That Dept Of Education Official Advised Dream Center Education Holdings To Misrepresent Accreditation Status To Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos regarding reports that the Department of Education was behind Dream Center Education Holdings' (DCEH) alleged misrepresentation of its accreditation status. A report published by David Halperin of the Republic Report alleges that Diane Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary delegated to perform the duties … Continue Reading
August 22, 2018
Durbin, Dem Senators Take Action To Stop Trump-Devos Elimination Of Student Borrower Protections
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with several of his Senate Democratic Colleagues, today introduced a pair of amendments to the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill - part of the "minibus" appropriations package being considered this week by the Senate - to protect relief for student loan borrowers who have been defrauded by for-profit colleges and universities and hold institutions accountable. The amendments would prohibit Secretary of … Continue Reading
August 07, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Democrats To Condemn Trump Administration For Rescinding Civil Rights Guidance Promoting Diversity In Education
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and 17 other Senate Democrats in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos condemning their decision to rescind civil rights guidance promoting diversity in education. Last month, Attorney General Sessions and Secretary DeVos rescinded guidance that clarifies to schools how to promote diversity and open doors of … Continue Reading
August 03, 2018
Durbin, Murray, Warren, Blumenthal, Brown, Duckworth Press Secretary Devos To Assist Students In The Wake Of National College Closures
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) today pressed U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to take immediate steps to assist students harmed by the closing of colleges owned by Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), including many of the Art Institutes (Ai), Argosy University, and South University campuses around the country. Specifically, the senators … Continue Reading
July 25, 2018
Durbin Statement On Trump-DeVos Rewrite Of Borrower Defense Rule
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced a proposed rule rewriting the 2016 Obama Borrower Defense Rule. Under the Borrower Defense to Repayment provision of the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education has the legal authority to provide cheated and defrauded students with complete, immediate, and automatic relief from their federal student … Continue Reading
July 25, 2018
Durbin: Now Is The Time For The Senate To Help Families Buried In Student Loan Debt
WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced an amendment to the Financial Services and General Government bill - part of the "minibus" appropriations package being considered this week by the Senate - to make it easier for some struggling student loan borrowers to receive discharge of their student loans in bankruptcy under the "undue hardship" exception. "It is time for the Senate to get serious about the student loan crisis in America," … Continue Reading
July 20, 2018
Durbin, Brown, Warren, Blumenthal Blast Sec For Weak Settlement With Former For-Profit College Executive
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today slammed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) "incredible" settlement with ITT Educational Services, Inc. (ITT) Chief Executive Officer Kevin Modany. The SEC recently settled its fraud case against Mr. Modany, barring him from serving as a public company executive in the future but agreeing to a fine of just $200,000. Mr. Modany made $36 million at … Continue Reading
June 26, 2018
Durbin Calls On Accreditor To Investigate Reports Of Misleading Practices By Dream Center Education Holdings
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today pressed The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) on recent reports that Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH), the owner of Art Institutes, misled students about the accreditation status of several of its campuses including the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and Schaumburg. Durbin's letter to Dr. Barbara Gellman-Danley, President of HLC, comes after a recent Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, which reported that DCEH failed to … Continue Reading
June 20, 2018
Durbin Announces Summer 2018 Recipients Of The Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced Karla Robles, a rising college senior at Loyola University Chicago, and Ivy Lyons, a rising college senior at Greenville University, as the summer 2018 recipients of the Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program. This scholarship, open to students from Illinois or those studying in Illinois, is an opportunity for the students to receive financial assistance while obtaining a first-hand experience in Senator Durbin's Washington, D.C. office. … Continue Reading
June 14, 2018
Durbin, Murray: Inspector General Reveals New Details About Failure Of DeVos, Trump Admin To Provide Debt Relief To Defrauded Student Borrowers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Patty Murray (D-WA) today slammed the Trump Administration and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for findings revealed in a letter from the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) showing the Department's blatant actions to avoid providing student loan relief to borrowers who were defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges, relief that students are entitled to under the law. In their letter, the OIG reveals that then-Acting … Continue Reading
June 04, 2018
Durbin, Brown Urge DeVos To Protect Students & taxpayers In Potential Transfer Of Predatory For-Profit DeVry University To Cogswell Education
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to carefully scrutinize Adtalem Global Education, Inc.'s - formerly known as DeVry Education Group - proposed transfer of DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management to Cogswell Education, which currently runs Cogswell College. Adtalem has a long record of abuse and mistreatment of students, according to multiple state and federal investigations and lawsuits. And if the … Continue Reading
May 29, 2018
Durbin, Duckworth Ask Illinois Superintendents About E-Cigarette Use By Middle And High School Students
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) are reaching out to Superintendents across the state and requesting information regarding what Illinois middle and high schools are experiencing with respect to student use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and vaping products, such as the JUUL vaping device. Nationwide, between 2011 and 2015, the use of these dangerous and addictive nicotine products among high school students increased more than ten-fold-from 1.5 percent to … Continue Reading
May 22, 2018
Durbin Sounds The Alarm On DeVos-Orchestrated Takeover Of The Department Of Education By The For-Profit College Industry
Following reports that the U.S. Department of Education is unwinding the unit tasked with investigating fraud at for-profit colleges and universities, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed President Trump and Secretary Betsy DeVos for their orchestrated takeover of the Department of Education by the predatory for-profit college industry. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin blasted Secretary DeVos for dismantling the Enforcement Unit that was set-up in 2016 to prevent future fraud … Continue Reading
May 09, 2018
Durbin Statement On Trump Administration Decision To Shutter CFPB Office Designed To Protect Student Loan Borrowers
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced plans to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) Office for Students and Young Consumers: The Trump Administration's message to families ripped off by student loan fraud: 'stop whining.' Today's action to dismantle a student loan watchdog office at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - which has returned three quarters of a … Continue Reading
April 26, 2018
Judiciary Committee Advances Nomination Of Bradley Maxwell To Be U.S. Marshal For Southern District Of Illinois
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) released the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance the nomination of Bradley A. Maxwell to serve as United States Marshal for the Southern District of Illinois: "Through many years of service to Illinois, Bradley Maxwell has demonstrated strong qualifications to serve as United States Marshal. We expect him to serve with professionalism, responsibility, and a clear focus on … Continue Reading
April 23, 2018
Durbin Enlists Illinois High School Educators To Sound The Alarm On For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - With high school seniors making decisions about their educational futures, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is enlisting the help of Illinois high school principals, counselors, and teachers to warn college-bound students and their families about the risks associated with attending for-profit colleges. In today's letter, Durbin calls on educators to give students "accurate and up-to-date information about their post-secondary education options, including the risks associated with … Continue Reading
April 18, 2018
Authors Of Open Textbooks Pilot Press Secretary DeVos To Properly Implement New Program
WASHINGTON - The authors of the Open Textbooks Pilot included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 spending bill today pressed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to properly implement this new competitive grant program. The Open Textbooks Pilot was based on the Affordable College Textbook Act (S. 1864 and H.R. 3840), which would create a competitive grant program to support the creation and expand the use of open college textbooks-textbooks that are available under an open license, allowing professors, … Continue Reading
April 11, 2018
Democratic Senators Press Secretary DeVos To Publicly Release Documents Being Used By Deadbeat For-Profit Accreditor To Petition For Federal Recognition
WASHINGTON - Following Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' decision to sign an order to restore the federal recognition of the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools' (ACICS), U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) called on the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to immediately release the documents being used by ACICS to petition for recognition. The order from Secretary DeVos stated that ACICS will retain … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Durbin Joins 32 Members Of Congress In Introducing Bill To Stem Student Debt Relief
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and 31 other members of Congress in introducing the Debt-Free College Act, legislation that will reverse the growing student debt crisis in the United States. The bill restores a path to affordable college by providing states incentives through matching grants to increase investments in public higher education and provide students with debt-free college. According to estimates, Illinois would be one of ten … Continue Reading