Cosmetology Schools Sue to Block Gainful-Employment Regs
Katherine Knott
January 5, 2024
The trade association representing cosmetology schools is suing the Biden administration to block its new gainful-employment rule from taking effect.
The lawsuit from the American Association of Cosmetology Schools, filed Dec. 22 in the Northern District of Texas, argues that the rule would jeopardize the “very existence” of cosmetology schools and that it uses flawed measures to determine whether graduates of career education programs are gainfully employed. The Republic Report first reported on the lawsuit.
The rule, which would take effect in July, measures whether graduates earn more than the average high school graduate in their state as well as enough money to repay their student loans. Programs that fail either of those tests twice in a three-year period could lose access to federal financial aid. Most cosmetology schools would fail under the new rule.
