Dive Brief:
- The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Consumer Law Center are suing the U.S. Department of Education to get access to debt collection policies and information about how it oversees private debt collection companies.
- The lawsuit follows an unsuccessful attempt to see documents relating to these issues under the Freedom of Information Act, and Inside Higher Ed reports the department has argued its manual describing how debt collectors should interact with borrowers is exempt from FOIA laws because of the law enforcement exemption — another element the ACLU and NCLC protest in the lawsuit.
- The department released 1,700 pages of heavily redacted documents in a partial response to the two groups’ FOIA request, but they are looking for more information about whether the department’s debt collection practices disproportionately hurt students of color, which the department says it does not monitor.
Dive Insight:
The ACLU and NCLC submitted their request for documents to the Department of Education last May. The lawsuit turns to a judge to force the department to release the requested documents. President Barack Obama's administration has been criticized since he took office for a lack of transparency with the press and aggressive responses to any leaks of information from staff. Last year, the department only grudgingly released information about which colleges are under cash monitoring after an Inside Higher Ed article detailed its initial refusal.
On the topic of debt collection practices, vocal senators like Elizabeth Warren have argued the department seeks to make money off of students, in direct opposition to its job of protecting students. Last year, the department announced it would fire five debt collection companies for unscrupulous collection practices, but it has reportedly hired two of them back.