EXCLUSIVE — An overlooked policy from President Joe Biden‘s Department of Education could force colleges to provide transcripts and diplomas to students who have not paid their tuition and room and board fees, but a new bill from Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) aims to change that.
Green introduced the No Backdoors for Student Debt Cancellation Act Thursday in a bid to repeal a Department of Education regulation that will block federal funds from going to colleges that withhold diplomas and transcripts from students who have not paid their bills.
Colleges typically require students to pay any outstanding balance on their student account before they can receive their diploma or access transcripts. This includes tuition, room and board fees, and even library fines.
In a statement, Green called the administration’s policy “the definition of federal overreach” and noted that withholding diplomas and transcripts “is one of the few tools colleges and universities have to ensure students fulfill their obligations.”
The policy is effectively a backdoor to allow students to go to college for free without requiring that they pay for the education they receive. It is functionally state-sanctioned stealing. And for a higher education industry that is already dealing with tighter budgets due to a decline in enrollment, it has the potential to harm institutions in many ways.
“Biden’s Department of Education will stop at nothing to grant retroactive free college. My bill prohibits the Secretary of Education from taking such a retaliatory action against colleges and universities attempting to enforce the contracts they make with students,” Green told the Washington Examiner. “This policy will incentivize students to ignore all manner of fees, even possibly costing libraries tens of thousands in unreturned books. This could harm the very students the Biden administration claims to want to help.”
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The Biden administration has shown a callous disregard for the rule of law when it comes to student loan policy, and this policy is no different. Rather than engage in brazen vote buying through backdoor loan forgiveness policies, the president should be looking for ways to work with colleges to lower costs for everyone.
Congress should promptly pass Green’s bill and avoid further financial chaos in higher education.