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This week, the U.S. Department of Education is weighing rules intended to protect billions of dollars in federal aid. Without stronger oversight, GI Bill benefits will continue flowing to for-profit predatory schools, leaving student veterans deep in the red.
San Antonio resident and veteran Valerie Scott, and military spouse Dr. Cynthia Lawrence of Raleigh, NC, traveled to Washington, D.C. to speak with legislator teams and share their stories.
Scott carries over $400,000 in student loan debt while Lawrence is paying more than $50,000 dollars out-of-pocket after exhausting her benefits.
The crippling debt for Scott, Lawrence, and thousands of other veterans is due to the mismanagement of funds from college accreditation programs. Scott claims she was misled by Argosy University — a now defunct school.
“I want to make sure that what happened to me being scammed by Argosy does not happen to other people,” said Scott.
In March of 2026, a federal appeals court rejected an emergency appeal by the U.S. Department of Education to delay student loan relief for tens of thousands of Americans who claim they were defrauded by their school. The settlement provided automatic student loan relief for class members, defined as those who submitted Borrower Defense applications requesting student loan forgiveness.
The ruling is the latest in a series of losses for the Trump administration in the Sweet v. McMahon case, paving the way for the department to automatically discharge the student loans of roughly 205,000 borrowers.
Scott said only a small portion of affected students have applied for what is known as borrower defense.
"I've been organizing for Argosy University for the last two years. I've spoken with over 1,000 victims. That's what I call them — victims," said Scott. "But Argosy had over 100,000 distinct students, and only 16,000 of those students have applied for a borrower defense for repayment."
Argosy University, a for-profit institution, ceased operations in 2019 after the U.S. Department of Education cut off their funding due to financial instability and mismanagement. The university used $13 million of federal student loan money to cover payroll and other expenses.
Parent organization Dream Center Education Holdings (DCEH) acquired Argosy in 2017 and faced significant financial difficulties. DCEH owned more than 100 for‑profit campuses in the U.S. when it collapsed in 2019.
Will Hubbard with Veterans Education Success joined Scott and Lawrence on Capitol Hill for discussions with both the House and Senate Committees on Veterans' Affairs. He said the accreditation process has led to severe financial mismanagement and Congress needs to take a harder look at the process.
“Schools that are rather predatory tend to target these students purely for their GI Bill dollars and the resources they bring to the table versus the value they bring to the classroom. That’s something unfortunate but it’s something we’ve seen far too often,” said Hubbard.
Career Education Colleges and Universities is the national association representing private postsecondary trade schools and career colleges. CECU Senior Vice President and General Counsel Jed Britton once worked for an accrediting agency and is observing the negotiated rulemaking process with the Department of Education. He's sympathetic to the administration's concerns about the accreditation process limiting innovation.
"It appears that the current administration has a couple priorities — one big one is that they want innovation. They believe the accreditation system has remained more or less the same for a long time in the U.S. and there are some ways the accreditation system inhibits innovation and prevents schools from doing new things," said Britton.
A committee to assess the quality of institutions and their academic programs, and to monitor the performance standards of postsecondary colleges is in discussions this week. Individuals speaking on behalf of the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) Committee on negotiated rulemaking include members of Paralyzed Veterans of America and Valley Forge Military College.
Negotiations with the department will continue next month.
