The Biden Administration’s Political Target Is Private, Affordable Education

In testimony before Congress, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona vowed to “shut down” Grand Canyon University (GCU), one of the nation’s largest and most successful private colleges – and the motive appears purely political.

Secretary Cardona’s department has targeted GCU with a $37.7 million fine, the largest fine ever assessed in agency history. By comparison, the Department of Education fined Penn State $2.4 million for failing to report the sex crimes of Jerry Sandusky, and Michigan State $4.5 million for failing to address sexual assault committed by Larry Nasser.

What is the basis for this extraordinary fine? The department alleges that GCU failed to properly inform Ph.D. students that they must take courses while completing their dissertations. This is a pretextual deceit.

Read the rest of the op-ed here.

Stacy Skankey is an attorney at the Goldwater Institute.