Education experts are raising alarm about a recent Supreme Court decision that has severely restricted the Department of Education's powers to oversee and regulate schools.
USA Today reports that several former and current Department of Education staffers are worried that the court's ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo would vastly harm the department's ability to engage in a wide range of activities, ranging from protecting minority students from abuse, negotiating textbook prices, or providing relief for student loan debt.
As an example of this, the report points to efforts by the Biden administration to help students deal with unexpected charges from their schools for meals and textbooks, among other core expenditures.
"One regulation the administration is championing would give students more of a direct say in how they pay for course materials," notes USA Today. "The rule prompted fierce pushback from the publishing industry, which has argued the policy will only raise prices for students."
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That initiative, however, has seemingly been scuttled by the court's decision, which was celebrated by the for-profit college industry for purportedly ending government "overreach" of their industry.
“I’m really, really nervous about what this means,” Amy Laitinen, who served as a senior policy advisor on higher education in the Education Department and the White House, told USA Today. “I don’t think there’s any doubt that it will be bad for students and taxpayers.”
Education is only one area where the court's decision will impact government's ability to regulate industry, and it has greatly expanded the role of courts in interpreting regulations even though many times judges on those courts have no expertise about the industry in question, as was noted in Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan's dissent in the case.
"In every sphere of current or future federal regulation, expect courts from now on to play a commanding role," she wrote.
