Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Final Gainful Employment Rule

Washington DC – Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education released the final gainful employment rule:

 

“At every step of the way, I, and many of my colleagues, supported the Department of Education’s efforts to create gainful employment regulations. I commend the Department for issuing a final rule that increases both transparency and accountability, despite fierce opposition from the for-profit college industry that refuses to acknowledge and fix its bad practices.”

 

“At the same time, I do not believe that this rule will be enough to prevent bad actors in the for-profit sector from gaming the system and taking advantage of our students, particularly with the omission of any metric that considers drop-out students, student loan repayment rates, or default rates.”

 

“The Department and Congress must work together and take additional steps to protect our students from these bad actors. One step should be to pass the PRO Students Act, legislation I announced in August along with Congressman Steve Cohen and Congresswoman Susan Davis. This legislation will help to curb predatory and abusive practices in the for-profit college sector by ensuring students have access to important and accurate information and data, strengthening oversight and regulation, and holding schools accountable for violations and poor performance.”