Higher Ed Watch has learned that the last-minute budget deal that the White House and Congress reached late last night does not include a controversial provision that would have blocked the U.S. Department of Education from issuing a regulation that aims to prevent for-profit colleges from overloading financially needy students with unmanageable levels of debt. Assuming that this tentative agreement sticks, the Education Department will remain free to finalize its proposed “Gainful Employment” rule.
While this news is not entirely surprising, given the fact that the White House and key Senate Democrats strongly opposed the provision, this does represent a major blow to the for-profit higher education industry, which has spent millions of dollars lobbying Congress to stop the Department from moving forward with this regulation.
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