Last year, the Obama administration proposed regulations on for-profit colleges, schools run by private companies or organizations. The Department of Education believed that students leave some schools with a large debt, and are unprepared for the job market. Last year, regulation was drafted that gave for-profit colleges rules on student debt and loan repayment. Failure to observe these rules would result in the loss of federal aid.
Recently, the House of Representatives voted to block regulation of for-profit schools. The majority of Republicans were against the regulation, but they were also joined by many Democrats. On February 18, according to the Washington Post, the House voted 289-136 to attach an anti-regulation measure to a Republican spending bill.
Republican John Kline, the chairman of the Education and Workplace Committee, said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal, “By blocking the administration’s regulation, we prevented an unnecessary hurdle to important skills and training at a time when workers need every advantage to succeed in the workplace.”
The Department of Education has yet to release a final draft of the regulation. This past vote in the House of Republicans may influence how the Department of Education proceeds with the regulation of for-profit colleges.