Overview

Arne Duncan served as U.S. Secretary of Education under President Obama from 2009 to 2015; overseeing the federal government's education policy during a critical period for student debt and for-profit college accountability. Before joining the cabinet; he served as CEO of Chicago Public Schools from 2001 to 2008. His signature achievement was implementing the "gainful employment" rule; which required for-profit colleges to prove their graduates could earn enough to repay their student loans or lose access to federal financial aid. This rule was fiercely opposed by the for-profit college industry; which spent millions lobbying against it. The rule was later repealed by Trump's Education Secretary Betsy DeVos; allowing predatory for-profit colleges to once again access federal student loan money without accountability. Duncan also oversaw the Race to the Top initiative; which incentivized states to adopt Common Core standards and teacher evaluation systems tied to test scores; drawing criticism from both teachers' unions who opposed high-stakes testing and conservatives who opposed federal education mandates. His tenure saw the beginning of the student debt crisis's explosion; with total student loan debt surpassing $1 trillion for the first time. After leaving government; he founded Chicago CRED; a nonprofit focused on gun violence reduction.

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Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

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Sources & Documentation

1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports