Statement on California Governor Newsom’s Signing of Key College Oversight Bills
“We commend Governor Gavin Newsom and the California Legislature for strengthening protections for students at for-profit schools. The three bills signed by the Governor today — AB 1340 (Assemblymember David Chiu), AB 1344 (Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan), and AB 1346 (Assemblymember Jose Medina) — are important steps to increase oversight, transparency, and protections for students attending for-profit colleges. All three bills passed both the Assembly and Senate with bipartisan support.
“As an industry, for-profit schools disproportionately leave students buried in debt and holding degrees of little to no value. In California, just one-third of students who enroll in a four-year for-profit college graduate within six years, compared to nearly two-thirds of students who attend public and nonprofit colleges. And half of borrowers who defaulted on their loans in California had attended for-profit institutions, despite the fact that these schools enroll only nine percent of students.
“The Trump Administration’s persistent efforts to repeal protections for students and delay relief for defrauded borrowers underscores the need for states to step up. Over 58,000 Californians have applied for federal student loan discharges on the basis of mistreatment by their colleges, and 40,000 of them are still pending because the Trump Administration refuses to act. We commend California policymakers for taking student protection into their own hands and cementing California as a leader in college oversight and student relief.”
# # #
