NSLDN Applauds Maryland General Assembly For Passing New Higher ED Consumer Protection Legislation
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Maryland Senate unanimously (46-0) passed legislation to protect students at for-profit institutions of higher education. This legislation also received overwhelming support from the House of Delegates, passing by a 122-14 margin on April 4, 2018. Having received bi-partisan support from both chambers of the General Assembly, the bill now heads to Governor Larry Hogan for signature.
NSLDN’s Vice President Dan Zibel testified in both the Senate and the House of Delegates in support of this important legislation. The legislation not only requires institutions to provide detailed, relevant, and factually accurate information to students before an enrollment decision is made, but it also creates enhanced financial protections for students in the unfortunate event that they are attending an institution that closes.
“The legislation passed today by the General Assembly is tremendously important for students in Maryland,” said Zibel. “The enhanced disclosure requirements are particularly important given that the U.S. Department of Education is currently rolling back its ‘Gainful Employment’ regulations, which require nearly all career training programs to increase the quality and availability of information regarding the outcomes of students enrolled in these programs.”
NSLDN is concerned that the U.S. Department of Education is heading in a direction that will leave students without access to valuable information. For that reason, NSLDN support efforts by states like Maryland to help students access critical information on things like costs, anticipated debt levels, and completion rates.
NSLDN particularly appreciates the leadership of Delegate Shelly Hettleman, Senator Paul Pinsky, and the office of Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh in working to pass this important legislation. We also commend the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition and the Job Opportunities Task Force for their hard work on this bill.
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The National Student Legal Defense Network is a non-partisan, Washington, D.C.-based non-profit organization that works, through litigation and advocacy, to advance students’ rights to educational opportunity and to ensure that higher education provides a launching point for economic mobility.
For additional comment or information, please contact info@nsldn.org.