About: David Halperin

Twitter: @DaHalperin
Bio: David Halperin, a self-employed lawyer based in Washington DC, engages in public advocacy work on a wide range of issues, including higher education and climate change. He also advises organizations and companies on strategy, policy, communications, and legal matters, and he is of counsel to Public.Resource.org. Halperin was previously: founding director of Campus Progress and senior vice president at the Center for American Progress; senior policy advisor for Howard Dean's presidential campaign; founding executive director of the American Constitution Society; White House speechwriter and special assistant for national security affairs to President Clinton; co-founder of the Internet company Progressive/RealNetworks; counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee; and law clerk to U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell. He has represented clients in the U.S. Supreme Court and various state and federal courts. He writes at Republic Report, and his articles also have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Nation, Politico, Slate, Foreign Policy, and other outlets. In recent years he has testified before the House Oversight Committee and at the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Transportation, and spoken at major events held by the National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Federation of America, Arizona State University, American Educational Research Association, and Center for American Progress. Halperin has served for more than a decade on the board of directors of Public Citizen. He graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School.

June 13, 2023

When It Comes to Compliance, Keiser University Keeps Flunking

Arthur Keiser is the ultra-wealthy Florida for-profit college owner who went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court trying, but failing, to block a landmark court settlement aimed at cancelling the student loan debt of hundreds of thousands of students who say they were deceived by their schools. His complaint was that his school,
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May 26, 2023

Florida Career College Suggests Education Dept. Might Reverse Aid Cutoff

At a public hearing Thursday in Orlando, Florida, executives of troubled for-profit Florida Career College (FCC) suggested that U.S. Department of Education officials might be amenable to finding an alternative to their recent decision to cut off federal student grants and loans to the school. The Department announced on April 11 that it was terminating
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May 23, 2023

With ACICS Closing Soon, What’s Going On With Its Remaining Schools?

Last August, the U.S. Department of Education terminated the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) as a recognized accrediting agency, in the wake of powerful evidence that ACICS had allowed a number of schools under its watch to engage in deceptive and predatory practices without facing serious consequences. The Department’s action reprised a
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May 17, 2023

Rebuffed in Arkansas, University of Phoenix Now Plans to Sell Itself to University of Idaho

The University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees last month voted its disapproval of a plan by the institution’s president to acquire the troubled for-profit giant University of Phoenix, with several trustees expressing concerns, including about the structure of the deal, and one trustee declaring that Phoenix “has a terrible reputation.” Two weeks ago, six
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May 15, 2023

Collapsed Career College Chain CEHE Loses at Colorado Supreme Court

The demised career college operation Center for Excellence in Higher Education, which ran Independence University and other schools, lost on nearly every issue today in a decision issued by the Colorado Supreme Court. The state high court unanimously rebuffed CEHE’s demand for a new trial of a case brought by the Colorado attorney general. In
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May 3, 2023

Durbin, Warren Say U. of Phoenix Violates Deal With FTC Not to Deceive Students

Six U.S. senators, including Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), wrote today to the secretaries of education, defense, and veterans affairs urging them to examine the largest for-profit college, the University of Phoenix, and its participation in federal student aid programs. The senators cited a report on this website describing a University of Phoenix
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April 27, 2023

Data Shows U.S. Aid to Perdoceo Schools Hurts Students and Taxpayers

New data released by the U.S. Department of Education show that the two schools operated by for-profit Perdoceo Education Corp. — American Intercontinental University (AIU) and Colorado Technical University (CTU), both entirely online — continue to deliver poor results for students, with low graduation rates and graduate incomes and high levels of student debt. Coming
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