Letter to the Hon. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of the U.S. Education Department - Durbin, Blumenthal, Brown Call On Devos To Immediately Cooperate With Investigation Into Department's Role In Dream Center Accreditation Misrepresentation
Letter
Dear Secretary DeVos:
We are deeply troubled by the Department of Education's (Department) failure to cooperate with an important Congressional investigation being conducted by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott into the Department's role in Dream Center Education Holding's (DCEH) accreditation misrepresentation at its Illinois Institute of Art and Art Institute of Colorado campuses.
On July 17, Chairman Scott first publicly wrote to you requesting cooperation with his investigation. In that letter, he revealed new details about the Department's role in DCEH's accreditation misrepresentation--which call into question representations the Department, including you and Principal Deputy Undersecretary Diane Auer Jones, made to members of Congress in writing and under oath.
Now, in a letter sent to you just this week, Chairman Scott reveals that you have "failed to substantively respond" to his July 17 letter and that you are not cooperating with the investigation. What's more, his letter revealed shocking new evidence that the Department may have:
-Made at least $10.7 million in improper federal taxpayer-funded payments to DCEH at a time when it was legally prohibited from participating in Title IV; and
-Retroactively granted non-profit status to the Illinois Institute of Art and Art Institute of Colorado campuses to cover up these improper payments.
If true, this represents a serious breach of the public trust and failure to uphold the laws and regulations governing the disbursement of federal student aid funds. It means the Department is directly responsible for additional students being harmed and taxpayer dollars being wasted at Illinois Institute of Art and Colorado Art Institute.
You have thus far impeded Congress from gathering the full picture of this matter and left the public record pointing to Department misconduct. At this point, transparency is your only option. We call on you to immediately and fully cooperate with Chairman Scott's July 17 and October XX requests and personally direct the cooperation of Department officials and staff.
Thank you.
Source