Gov. gets heat on trade school issue
September 9, 2007
Los Angeles Times
By Michael Rothfeld
Abstract:
SACRAMENTO -- When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger struck down a bill last fall that would have extended regulation of California's for-profit colleges, he promised to deliver real reform of a broken oversight system and to defend the interests of students.
But the governor has released a new plan that would do exactly the opposite, according to advocates for students.
"I want to work with the Legislature to pass legislation early next year so that our students will have the protections they deserve," Schwarzenegger said in his veto message last September.
However, it wasn't until late last month, less than three weeks before the end of the legislative session, that his administration produced a proposal. Opponents contend that the plan would actually relax state oversight and benefit the trade schools rather than the 400,000 largely working-class students they serve...
..."I think it's telling the students that they're being forgotten because the trade schools can then do what they want," said Heather McKeon, an attorney with The Quisenberry Law Firm in Los Angeles.
She represents 100 students in a class-action complaint filed in December that accuses Maric College of enticing them to enroll at its North Hollywood campus by telling them the school was accredited for a national X-ray technician exam, even though it was not.
"The students need protection," McKeon said. "They're people who are trying to get careers and pull themselves up, and to a certain extent they are vulnerable to a good sales pitch."...
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