Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Education
Durbin And Hassan Introduce Comprehensive Legislation To Protect Students And Taxpayers From Predatory Higher Education Practices
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today introduced the Preventing Risky Operations from Threatening the Education and Career Trajectories of Students Act of 2019, also known as the PROTECT Students Act. The bill will help safeguard students, including servicemembers and veterans, and taxpayers from predatory and anti-student higher education practices and ensure that higher education meets the needs of hard-working students. As the Senate HELP Committee … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Durbin Testifies At House Appropriations Subcommittee Hearing On Oversight of For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today testified at the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing entitled "Oversight of For-Profit Colleges: Protecting Students and Taxpayer Dollars." Durbin testified about the continued risk that for-profit colleges pose to students and taxpayers and the need for Congress to finally uphold its oversight responsibilities of this predatory … Continue Reading
March 11, 2019
Durbin Statement On For-Profit Argosy University's Imminent Closure
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement amid growing expectations that for-profit Argosy University's closure is imminent: After wasting millions of tax dollars and crippling thousands of students with debt, another phony for-profit university, Argosy, is expected to imminently close its doors. When will this Administration stop subsidizing these worthless vultures? Earlier today, Durbin led 12 of his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to … Continue Reading
March 11, 2019
Durbin, Smith, Sinema, Senators Urge Department Of Education To Immediately Assist Argosy University Students
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) today, along with 10 of their Senate colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Education urging it to take immediate action to assist students in the aftermath of its February 27 decision to terminate Argosy University's eligibility for federal Title IV financial aid and reports of Argosy's imminent closure. The Senators called on the Department to immediately work with accreditors and states to … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Durbin Reintroduces Bill To End Student Loan Debt Crisis
WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and U.S. Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), and a group of 42 members of Congress, reintroduced 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. … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Durbin Meets With Open Textbook Pilot Grantees And Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Open Textbook Pilot grant recipients, open textbook experts, and college students to get an update on how federal funds are helping students save money. Over the last two fiscal years, Durbin, along with Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN), successfully secured $10 million in federal funding to create an Open Textbook Pilot program at the Department of Education. The Pilot is a competitive grant program for institutions … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Durbin Meets With Open Textbook Pilot Grantees And Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Open Textbook Pilot grant recipients, open textbook experts, and college students to get an update on how federal funds are helping students save money. Over the last two fiscal years, Durbin, along with Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Tina Smith (D-MN), successfully secured $10 million in federal funding to create an Open Textbook Pilot program at the Department of Education. The Pilot is a competitive grant program for institutions … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Durbin, Waters Re-Introduce Bill To Give Students Defrauded By For-Profit Colleges Their Day In Court
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) have reintroduced bicameral legislation designed to strengthen students' ability to hold for-profit colleges accountable in court for their misconduct. The Court Legal Access & Student Support (CLASS) Act prohibits any school receiving Title IV student aid funding from placing restrictions on students' ability to pursue legal claims, individually or with others, against higher education … Continue Reading
February 27, 2019
Durbin Statement On For-Profit Agrosy University Losing Title IV Funding
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Department of Education announced that Argosy University, a for-profit college, will no longer receive Title IV funding: The downfall of Argosy University has been a long time coming-from its days as part of the predatory for-profit Education Management Corporation, to its mismanagement under Dream Center and the federal receivership, and the Department's complicity at every step. About … Continue Reading
February 19, 2019
Durbin & Delauro Call For OIG Investigation Into Department Of Education's Handling Of Dream Center Transaction, Possible Misuse Of Federal Funds
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) called on the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to immediately investigate reports that millions in federal Title IV funds have not been paid to students attending Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH) schools operated by a court-appointed receiver and that additional federal funds may have disappeared as a result of questionable sales, consummated with the Department's … Continue Reading
January 29, 2019
Durbin Urges Trump-Devos Department Of Education To Stop Embracing Predatory For-Profit College Industry
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today slammed the Department of Education's repeated embrace of the for-profit college industry, and urged the Department to take action to help thousands of defrauded students in Illinois and across the country. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin highlighted the continued upheaval in the for-profit college industry with the closures of Vatterott Colleges, Education Corporation of America, and Dream Center Education Holdings - and state … Continue Reading
December 20, 2018
Durbin, Dem Senators Press DeVos To Provide Full Student Loan Discharges To Former ITT Tech Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), along with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos calling for full federal student loan discharges for former ITT Tech (ITT) student borrowers defrauded by the now-defunct school. The Department of Education has failed to meet its … Continue Reading
December 17, 2018
Durbin Statement On For-Profit Vatterott College Closure
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after Vatterott College, a for-profit college, announced its immediate closure: Another overcharging, underperforming for-profit college has closed its doors. It's the second major chain in just the last three weeks to abruptly close. And it won't be the last. With the collapse of Vatterott College, another 156 students in Illinois and 2,300 nationwide are left high and dry. Now it is the … Continue Reading
December 10, 2018
Durbin, Takano, Carper, Cohen Call On Department Of Education To Protect Military And Veteran Students
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Representative Mark Takano (D-CA-41), U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), and six of their colleagues today sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the Department of Education to protect military and veteran students by publishing, as part of the federal 90/10 rule, the amount and percentage of revenue received by for-profit colleges from all federal educational programs. The 90/10 … Continue Reading
December 03, 2018
Durbin Echoes Department Of Education Inspector General's Alarm On For-Profit Colleges
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today highlighted the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) semi-annual report to Congress where retiring Inspector General (IG) Kathleen Tighe raised the alarm on for-profit colleges. In the report, IG Tighe noted, "We disagreed with the Department's proposed elimination of the gainful employment regulations without an adequate replacement to ensure accountability. My predecessors and I have testified … Continue Reading
November 30, 2018
Durbin Announces Fall 2018 Recipient Of The Ed Greelegs Scholarship Program
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced Irving Moran, a sophomore at Elgin Community College as the Fall 2018 recipient 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 first-hand experience in Senator Durbin's office. The program was created in honor of Durbin's former Chief of Staff who passed away in March 2017 due … Continue Reading
November 29, 2018
Durbin Introduces Bill To Improve Concussion Safety In Youth Sports
WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced the Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act, a bill that would strengthen elementary and secondary school procedures for preventing, identifying, and treating student-athletes who suffer concussions. The National Federation of State High School Associations estimates that about 140,000 students playing high school sports suffer concussions every year, though many go unreported. The bill requires states to adopt "when in … Continue Reading
October 17, 2018
Durbin Calls On Secretary Devos To Implement & Enforce Obama-Era Borrower Defense Rule
SPRINGFIELD - Upon the Obama-era Borrower Defense rule taking effect, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to expeditiously implement and enforce the rule-including provisions providing automatic closed schools discharges to thousands of eligible students and prohibiting schools from using mandatory arbitration. The rule took effect following rulings by a federal judge that the Trump-DeVos Department of Education's delay was illegal and … Continue Reading
October 10, 2018
Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown, Warren, Hassan Press Secretary Devos To Respond To Troubling Findings At For-Profit Colleges By Accreditor
WASHINGTON-Following the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges' (ACCSC) decision to place for-profit Center for Excellence in Higher Education's (CEHE) Stevens-Henager Colleges, California College San Diego, CollegeAmerica, and Independence University on probation based on a system-wide disregard for addressing the needs of their students, U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today … Continue Reading
September 19, 2018
Durbin, Brown Urge Purdue University Board To End Practice Of Mandatory Arbitration For Enrollment At Global University
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today urged the Board of Trustees at Purdue University - which purchased the predatory for-profit Kaplan University, now Purdue University Global - to end the for-profit college industry practice of forcing students to sign pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses and class action bans as a condition of the new entity. Mandatory arbitration clauses prevent students from bringing suit against a school in a court of law … Continue Reading