Last week, Betsy DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education did something uncharacteristic. In an extraordinary announcement, the Department argued that states do not have authority to oversee student loan companies operating in their states and that regulation should be left to the federal government. [...]
This move is but the latest in a series of actions by DeVos and the Education Department that side with student loan servicers and for-profit colleges rather than the students who have been defrauded or loaded up with debt they cannot hope to repay. The problem for Secretary DeVos and the Trump administration is that they are dangerously out of touch with an American public that is increasingly wondering why so many people need to deal with the burden of student loans in the first place.
New public opinion research by Demos and Lake Research Partners finds broad and deep support for policies that would eliminate the need for many students to take on debt at all. More than 90 percent of American adults surveyed view student debt as a somewhat or very serious problem, and they overwhelmingly cited the price tag when asked about the biggest barriers standing between students and a degree or credential.
