Gainful Employment Rule Alternate Earnings Appeal: New Deadlines and Process Announced (Duane Morris)
On August 17, 2017, the U.S. Department of Education announced changes to the gainful employment (GE) rule’s alternate earnings deadlines and appeal process. The announcement is in response to the recent District of Columbia Court decision in American Association of Cosmetology Schools v. DeVos that required the Department of Education to review the alternate earnings appeal requirements for cosmetology programs. (Duane Morris LLP serves as counsel to AACS in this litigation. Read the memorandum and the opinion.)
The Department undertook a comprehensive review of the process and chose to expand the new requirements beyond cosmetology programs to all GE programs subject to the GE regulations in 34 CFR 668. The guidance also establishes new deadlines for submitting notices of intent to file alternate earnings appeals and for submitting alternate earnings appeals. Further, the Department has modified the threshold requirements for the alternate earnings appeals:
- Institutions that have already submitted a notice of intent to file an alternate earnings appeal, or an alternate earnings appeal, do not have to resubmit those items or amend their alternate earnings appeal in connection with the modified submission requirements described below.
- Institutions that wish to supplement an alternate earnings appeal that has already been submitted may do so, and should contact Department staff to make those arrangements on or before October 6, 2017.
- All institutions, including those that did not previously submit a notice of intent to file an alternate earnings appeal, may submit a notice of intent to appeal and an appeal.