Conservative leaders blast Department of Education's regulatory practices

On Tuesday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairwoman Rep. Dr. Virginia Foxx and Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Burgess Owens sent a letter to Department of Education (DOEd) Secretary Miguel Cardona, urging the Secretary to reconsider the DOEd’s latest proposed Gainful Employment (GE) rule.

GE regulations aim to protect students from burdensome college debt by enhancing the transparency of college programs.

The Gainful Employment rule, as explained in the below video from progressive thinktank Third Way, requires that schools provide “gainful employment” opportunities for graduates in order to receive federal funding.

According to the DOEd’s May press release, the latest proposal would establish the “strongest-ever” GE rule. 

It includes mandates such as requiring programs to demonstrate graduates’ ability to afford their debt payments and earn more than those who did not pursue higher education. Programs that fail to meet these requirements risk losing federal financial aid.

However, Rep. Dr. Virginia Foxx and Rep. Owens described the rule as “a sweeping regulatory package with substantial implications for students, institutions, and taxpayers” such as burdensome requirements on postsecondary education institutions, an increase in college tuition, and a threat to online learning.

New Letter: @virginiafoxx & @RepBurgessOwens are calling on ED Sec. Cardona to abandon ED’s gainful employment rule which would:

🚧Impose burdensome requirements on postsecondary ed institutions
💰Increase college tuition
💻Threaten online learninghttps://t.co/FaCTiSod08

— House Committee on Education & the Workforce (@EdWorkforceCmte) June 21, 2023

“[Y]our Department has reverted to using a mere few words in statute as an excuse to create hundreds of pages in regulations primarily targeting [institutions of higher education (IHE)] who do not share your preferred tax status,” the letter reads. 

The leaders also call the DOEd hypocritical for its reporting and compliance requirements, citing the DOEd’s own difficulties in meeting deadlines and providing documentation to Congress.

“[T]he [DOEd] unreasonably requires IHEs to comply with reporting requirements in as little as 10 days … This is ironic given that the [DOEd] itself regularly fails to meet deadlines for responding to Congressional inquiries.”

Rep. Dr. Foxx and Rep. Owens also address concerns about the proposed changes to state licensing requirements and consumer protection laws for distance education. 

The first change the committee leaders critique involves requiring institutions to disclose whether their programs meet state occupational licensure requirements. Instead, they believe federal policy should encourage states to reduce such requirements. 

The lawmakers are also concerned with the DOEd’s proposed reversal of current regulations that allow institutions to offer courses across states through state authorization reciprocity agreements. 

“Under current regulations, institutions can offer distance education across the country without undergoing state-by-state authorization processes,” Rep. Dr. Foxx told Campus Reform. “The Department’s rule would force institutions to meet individual state requirements to offer distance education, opening pandora’s box to a myriad of state laws. This change would eliminate online education opportunities for millions of students who prefer this flexible option.” 

“How can the Department expect colleges and universities to innovate and meet the needs of today’s diverse learners if it continues to impose regulations that tie the hands of IHEs? This is totally ridiculous.”

Lastly, the letter points out that the DOEd “has failed to provide” all affected parties time to respond. 

The regulatory package is 1,077 pages long. 

GE regulations have been hotly contested since the Obama administration, whom conservatives argued used the regulation to discriminate against for-profit education models while ignoring financial blunders associated with public education.

A 2014 debate between Senator Roger Wicker and then Secretary of Education Arne Duncan captures the debate precisely:

Meanwhile, conservatives are moving forward with their own regulatory packages to combat the high cost of public education programs. 

For example, the Ohio State House of Representatives recently passed bill 27 which will require public colleges and universities in the state to provide a one-page “financial cost and aid disclosure form.” Rep. Dr. Foxx pursued similar steps in early March when reintroducing the College Cost Transparency and Student Protection Act. 

“We can all agree that more accountability and transparency in institutions of higher education (IHE) is needed. However, the [DOEd’s] proposed gainful employment (GE) rule goes about achieving this the wrong way,” Foxx told Campus Reform. 

We can have tuition transparency without overly burdensome reporting requirements just like we can have accountability for all institutions without unfair and arbitrary standards. Lowering college costs and improving student outcomes is not a partisan issue in Congress, but the [DOEd] refuses to work with the legislative branch to build a framework that works for all postsecondary education institutions, students, and taxpayers.

Campus Reform contacted Rep. Burgess Owens’ office and the Department of Education for comment, but could not receive a response in time of this publication. This article will be updated accordingly. 

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