Ruling in Favor of AACS Member Schools in Lawsuit Against Department of Education

Yesterday, in a ruling that allows the nation's cosmetology schools to properly demonstrate their value to students who graduate from their programs, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled in favor of the American Association of Cosmetology Schools in a case challenging the so-called "Gainful Employment Rule".  AACS challenged the rule as applied to cosmetology schools because on the basis that SSA data does not fully capture the graduate’s full income. The judge's order prohibits the Department from enforcing a requirement that AACS member schools must obtain at least a 50% response rate from graduate surveys of actual earnings before they can use that data in "alternate earnings appeals." 

The judge also ordered the Department to provide AACS members with additional flexibility as to the students whose alternate earnings are measured in the appeal, and strikes from the rule any other "requirement that a particular number or percentage of students respond to institutional surveys for alternate earnings appeals."

Click here to read the full press release on the ruling. Stay tuned for AACS Webinars for more in-depth information and next steps from our legal team.