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DeVos Held in Contempt of Court in Loan Forgiveness Dispute
A federal judge has held Education Secretary Betsy DeVos in contempt of court for violating an order to stop collecting loans from thousands of former for-profit college students. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim issued the ruling Thursday in San Francisco. She also fined the Education Department $100,000. Kim previously ordered DeVos to stop collecting federal loans from former Corinthian Colleges...
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Conn. Lawyer Gets 1 Month for Paying to Rig Daughter's ACT Exam
The former chairman of a global law firm was sentenced Thursday to one month in prison for paying $75,000 to rig his daughter’s ACT exam. Gordon Caplan, 53, of Greenwich, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in May to a single count of fraud and conspiracy in a deal with prosecutors. He is the fourth parent to be sentenced in a sweeping college...
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Lawsuit Alleging Harvard Discriminated Against Asian Americans Is Dismissed
Harvard University does not discriminate against Asian Americans in its admissions process, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a lawsuit that reignited a national debate over affirmative action. U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs said in her decision v that Harvard’s admissions process is “not perfect” but passes constitutional muster.
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Test Proctor Agrees to Plead Guilty in College Admissions Scheme
A former college exam proctor has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with investigators in the sweeping college admissions scheme. Court documents filed Tuesday say Igor Dvorskiy agreed to plead guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to commit racketeering. He previously pleaded not guilty in March.
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Michigan State University Fined $4.5 Million in Nassar Case
The government on Thursday ordered Michigan State University to make sweeping changes and pay a $4.5 million fine after determining that it failed to adequately respond to sexual assault complaints against Larry Nassar, a campus sports doctor who molested elite gymnasts and other female athletes. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced the penalty after the conclusion of two federal investigations. She...
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DeVos Revokes Obama-Era Rule Policing For-Profit Colleges
The Trump administration revoked on Friday an Obama-era rule that aimed to terminate federal funding to for-profit college programs that consistently left graduates with high student debt. Department officials announced that the 2014 gainful employment rule will be rescinded effective July 1, 2020. The agency’s announcement said the rule focused too narrowly on graduate earnings and unfairly targeted for-profit colleges.
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DeVos Revokes Obama-Era Rule Policing For-Profit Colleges
The Trump administration revoked on Friday an Obama-era rule that aimed to terminate federal funding to for-profit college programs that consistently left graduates with high student debt. Department officials announced that the 2014 gainful employment rule will be rescinded effective July 1, 2020. The agency’s announcement said the rule focused too narrowly on graduate earnings and unfairly targeted for-profit colleges.
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Trump Administration Reviewing Foreign Money to US Colleges
The U.S. Education Department has opened investigations into foreign funding at Georgetown University and Texas A&M University as part of a broader push to monitor international money flowing to American colleges. Both universities are being ordered to disclose years of financial records amid concerns they have not fully reported their foreign gifts and contracts to the federal government, according to...
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Feds: DeVos Used Personal Emails for Work in ‘Limited' Cases
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has sometimes used her personal email accounts for government business and has not always properly saved the messages, according to an internal investigation released Monday. The agency’s Office of Inspector General, which was investigating at the request of House Democrats, said it searched the department’s email system and found a “limited” number of messages to or...
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Trump Targets Pell Grant Money for NASA's Budget Boost
The Trump administration is hoping to shift money for Pell Grants for college education to fund new spending, including a $1.6 billion bump for NASA. Under a budget amendment sent Monday evening to Congress, the administration would use an additional $1.9 billion in surplus Pell Grant money to fund other budget priorities, including an infusion of new cash for NASA...
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Trump Backs Off Proposal to Cut Special Olympics Funds
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was backing off his budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, reversing course on a proposal that was unlikely to be approved by Congress after days of bipartisan criticism. Speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a rally in Michigan, Trump said he had authorized funding for the...
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Devos Responds to Questions on Proposed Cuts to Special Olympics Funding
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I questions Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about cuts to Special Olympics funding proposed President Donald Trump’s latest budget plan.
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DeVos Defends Plan to Eliminate Special Olympics Funding Amid Backlash
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday defended a proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, pushing back against a storm of criticism from athletes, celebrities and politicians who rallied to support the organization. DeVos became a target on social media after Democrats slammed her plan to remove the group’s funding as part of nearly $7 billion in budget cuts...
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Department of Education Investigating College Bribery Scheme
Eight universities embroiled in a massive college admission cheating scheme are now being investigated by the U.S. Education Department.
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Trump Orders Colleges to Back Free Speech or Lose Funding
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday requiring U.S. colleges to protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal research funding. The new order directs federal agencies to ensure that any college or university receiving research grants agrees to promote free speech and the exchange of ideas, and to follow federal rules guiding free expression.
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Watchdog Finds Problems With Student Loan Servicing, Oversight
The nine companies and organizations tasked with servicing the accounts of the nation’s 30 million student loan borrowers repeatedly failed to do their jobs properly over a period of years and their regulator neglected to hold them responsible, a new report finds. The report released Thursday by the Department of Education’s independent inspector general’s office shows some borrowers weren’t getting...
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For-Profit College Owner Agrees to End $500M in Student Debt
A company that owns two national for-profit college chains said Thursday that it will erase nearly $500 million in debt incurred by former students as part of a settlement with 48 states and the District of Columbia. The deal with Career Education Corporation will resolve allegations that it lied about job placement rates and misled potential students to get them...
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Trump's School Safety Panel Seeks to Revoke Discipline Rules Meant to Curb Racial Disparities
The Trump administration on Tuesday moved to roll back an Obama-era policy that was meant to curb racial disparities in school discipline but that critics say left schools afraid to take action against potentially dangerous students. The recommendation was among dozens issued in a new report by President Donald Trump’s federal school safety commission, which was formed in response to...
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DeVos Rules Would Cut Estimated $13B in Student Loan Relief
Students who are defrauded by their schools would have a harder time getting their federal loans erased under new rules proposed by the Trump administration Wednesday. The proposal, which aims to replace a set of Obama-era rules that were never implemented, drew applause from the for-profit industry but sharp criticism from advocacy groups that represent student borrowers.
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Students Hold Nationwide Walkouts to Protest Gun Violence on Columbine Anniversary
Once again, they filed out of class. In a new wave of school walkouts, they raised their voices against gun violence. But this time, they were looking to turn outrage into action. Many of the students who joined demonstrations across the country Friday turned their attention to upcoming elections as they pressed for tougher gun laws and politicians who will...