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.
Mike Pence to Speak at For-Profit College Convention. Why Exactly?
Former Vice President Mike Pence will be the keynote speaker at this summer’s annual convention of CECU, the national trade association of for-profit colleges. CECU (full name, Career Education Colleges and Universities) announced Pence’s appearance in a March 22 press release. The CECU convention will be held in June in Pence’s home state of Indiana,
Continue Reading >>>
Accreditors, Education Department Limit Public Access to Findings on Troubled Colleges
Accrediting agencies — the private gatekeepers charged by the U.S. Department of Education with issuing the approvals that make colleges eligible for student financial aid — sometimes send letters to schools describing violations of rules and establishing penalties. These letters, when posted online, can help the public, including students, understand devel0pments and misconduct at schools.
Continue Reading >>>
Biden Debt Relief For Ripped-Off Art Institutes Students Is A Big Step. More Is Needed.
The U.S. Department of Education announced last week that it has approved more than $6.1 billion in automatic student loan debt cancellation for about 317,000 borrowers who attended the for-profit college chain The Art Institutes between January 2004 and October 2017. “This institution falsified data, knowingly misled students, and cheated borrowers into taking on mountains
Continue Reading >>>
University of Phoenix Paying $4.5 Million to Settle California Charges It Deceived Troops
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that the University of Phoenix has agreed to pay $4.5 million to settle allegations that the for-profit college engaged in aggressive and illegal recruitment tactics directed at military service members, in violation of California consumer protection laws and Department of Defense rules. In a press release, Bonta said
Continue Reading >>>
Grand Canyon U Fuels Right-Wing Claims That Cardona Vows to Shutter It, Scaring Wall Street
Grand Canyon University, which bills itself as a Christian school and is the largest recipient of federal aid of any American college or university, is once again revving up the right-wing echo chamber to claim it is facing an unwarranted assault from the U.S. Department of Education. Now, GCU’s surrogates charge the attack is aimed
Continue Reading >>>
Flailing U of Idaho President Accuses Phoenix Deal Critics of “Misinformation”
University of Idaho president C. Scott Green this week reaffirmed his determination to acquire the troubled for-profit University of Phoenix, despite the mounting opposition in his state and the growing evidence that the proposed $685 million purchase could be a disaster for the school and the state of Idaho. He also leveled false attacks on
Continue Reading >>>
Right-Wing Appeals Judges Block Biden Rule Aimed at Cancelling Debts for Students Scammed by Their Colleges
The New Orleans-based United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, stacked with right-wing judges and seemingly bent on nullifying a wide range of federal rules, has just taken a hard swing at the Biden administration’s borrower defense rule, a set of regulations aimed at making it possible for students who can show they
Continue Reading >>>
Under Fire for UAGC Deal, University of Arizona President Stepping Down
University of Arizona president Robert Robbins announced today that he is stepping down, as criticism has mounted, including from Arizona governor Katie Hobbs, over his handling of the acquisition of for-profit Ashford University, which had a long record of deceiving lower-income students, and over U of A’s related financial turmoil. “I informed the regents this
Continue Reading >>>