Regulating the For-Profit College Industry – Justin Clayton
Since June of 2010, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), lead by Senator Harkin (D-IA), has conducted a series of investigative hearings examining federal investment in for-profit colleges and universities. The Senate HELP committee series of oversight hearings comes in the wake of a regulation promulgated in 2009 by the Department of Education (DoE), which was meant to weed out ineffective programs of study within schools. For-profit institutions are codified as “proprietary institutions of higher education” that provide “an eligible program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.” (20 U.S.C. §1002) * * * It is projected that the DoE regulation will eliminate ineffective programs of study; however, core problems of students graduating from for-profit institutions with skyrocketing debt and high percentages of students defaulting on federal loans will likely still persist.
Arizona v. US- Supreme Court to Resolve Conflict Between Federal and State Government Regarding Immigration Policy and Enforcement – John Forbush
On December 12, 2011, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in. Arizona v. United States, representing the Court’s recent willingness to confront a hot political issue during the upcoming presidential election cycle. The Court will hear arguments revolving around S.B. 1070, the controversial Arizona law intended to combat illegal immigration. The law, among other mandates, allows a police officer to determine a person’s legal right to be in the US if the officer has a reasonable suspicion of the person’s legal status when making any stop or arrest. The enactment of the law in April 2010 drew the ire of the Department of Justice (DOJ), who filed suit seeking to enjoin its enactment. DOJ contends that the law attempts to circumvent federal immigration laws and policy.