AFT’s Weingarten on Debt Forgiveness for Corinthian Colleges Students

WASHINGTON—Following new information provided by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in a letter to Education Secretary John King regarding the discharge of debt owed by students defrauded by Corinthian Colleges, AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“For years, the Department of Education sat passively while Corinthian Colleges and other predatory for-profit institutions defrauded students and ripped off taxpayers. While it’s good the department has finally held Corinthian accountable, it now has an obligation to provide defrauded students with complete, immediate and automatic relief.
 
“The data show that the department knows exactly who is eligible for loan forgiveness, and it could easily pursue a comprehensive strategy. Instead, students who have already been preyed upon are being further impaired by the burden of completing an arduous and lengthy forgiveness process. The burden should not be on innocent students—that obligation lies with those who failed to protect them in the first place.
 
“We call on the department to take immediate and comprehensive action and give all defrauded students the relief they deserve and are afforded under the law.”