Federal court rules Trump's Education Dept violated privacy laws
A federal court in California ruled Friday that the Education Department violated privacy laws when it used the Social Security Administration (SSA) to help it analyze loan forgiveness for students defrauded by the for-profit Corinthian Colleges.
The district court ordered the department to cease debt collection from the defrauded students and to stop seeking SSA's services for the practice, according to The Associated Press.
The Education Department began the practice last year when Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that former students of the now-shuttered schools would have only part of their federal loans forgiven.
The court said it wants to hear more from Corinthian Colleges and those who have filed a class-action suit against the for-profit chain to determine if it will compel the department to return the full loan forgiveness, the AP reported.
About 100,000 students have ongoing claims for full loan forgiveness through the Education Department.
The Hill has requested comment from the department regarding the decision.
The group representing the defrauded students, Harvard University's Project on Predatory Student Lending, hailed Friday's court decision as a victory.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/389532-federal-court-rules-trumps-education-dept-violated-privacy-laws
