A federal court on Tuesday cleared the way for Obama-era student loan borrower protections to take effect, handing a defeat to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos after she fought for more than a year to stop the rules.
The rules make it easier for defrauded students to get their federal loans forgiven and they also prohibit colleges from forcing students to resolve complaints through arbitration, rather than going to court.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss rejected a request by a group representing for-profit colleges to halt the regulations. Consumer groups that have defended the Obama-era rules celebrated the ruling, saying it was an important step forward especially for those who borrowed to attend for-profit schools.
The court decision paves the path for the rules to now take effect, since Moss has already struck down DeVos’ various delays of the regulations over the past year as illegal. The Trump administration said last week that it would not seek a further delay.
