Britt v. Florida Career College
Case Outcome
On September 13, 2021, the District Court granted a motion by FCC to compel the parties to arbitration—even though FCC had notified students, including members of the Plaintiff class, that it would not enforce its arbitration agreement. In its order, the Court did not make any decision as to the merits of the Plaintiffs’ case, leaving open the possibility that Plaintiffs may still prevail in their claims against the school. Plaintiffs have filed a motion for reconsideration of the Court’s arbitration decision, as well as a motion to seek an immediate appeal of that decision before moving forward with the arbitration process. Those motions are now pending before the Court.
Overview
Who Is Involved In This Case?
Mr. Britt and Ms. Laurance brought this lawsuit in April 2020, on behalf of themselves and a class of current and former students against Florida Career College (FCC). FCC is a for-profit college chain that operates multiple campuses in Florida and Texas.
What Is This Case About?
The Florida Career College business model is simple. It uses high-pressure tactics and false statements to induce students to enroll in career-training programs. These students are forced to borrow thousands of dollars in federal student loans to pay FCC’s inflated tuition. FCC profits off this tuition money. Instead of investing in students’ education, it lines its own pockets and invests primarily in recruitment and advertising in order to scam more people. FCC targets students based on race, focusing its predatory marketing and deceptive recruitment practices on Black students, exacerbating the racial wealth gap.
FCC targets Black students for its high-priced, low-value product in many ways, including:
- Using Black models in many of its advertisements;
- Targeting students on Facebook and Instagram, where advertisers can target based on interest in “African Americans” and/or “African-American Culture”;
- Advertising on radio stations with predominantly Black audiences;
- Advertising on certain public buses, bus benches, and bus stops; and
- Conducting outreach at local high schools with a high percentage of Black students.
Because of these tactics, as of Fall 2018, every FCC campus had a larger percentage of Black students than the population of the city where it is located. For example, FCC in Hialeah has 55% Black student enrollment, even though the city’s Black population is just 2.5%. FCC in Margate has 70% Black student enrollment; Margate itself has a 28.6% Black population.
Where and When Was This Case Filed?
The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Monday, April 20, 2020.
“Florida Career College was a scam and a total waste of time and money. Their ads made me think that the HVAC program would give me a good career, but like everything else they told me, it was a lie. They didn’t teach even basics, and they didn’t care. Almost all of my classmates were minorities and many barely even had high school level reading skills. Their business is all about taking advantage of people who are just trying to better their lives. It’s not right and they shouldn’t be able to get away with it."
- Kareem Britt, lead plaintiff
Why This Case?
FCC peddles a predatory product to Black students, and does not provide the career training it promises. It leaves students in mountains of debt with no ability to pay it back. Only one of seventeen FCC programs led to gainful employment under the federal measure. The median annual earnings of students who were able to graduate and find employment in those seventeen programs were between $8,983 and $32,872.
FCC management trained recruiters to tell students that programs are full, even when they are not, in order to push students into programs that start earlier so FCC gets their student loan money sooner. Recruiters tout FCC’s ability to provide students with stable, lucrative careers, when in fact, all it provides is debt. Recruiters unscrupulously create an inaccurate image of the school regarding the students’ experiences and how the school improves students’ lives.
Case Updates
Press Releases
Congress Urged To Stop Propping Up Fraudulent For-Profit Colleges With Federal Pell Grants | Press Release
As part of President Biden’s Build Back Better framework, Democrats in Congress have proposed restricting for-profit colleges from receiving federal funds in the form of Pell Grant awards, a student aid program for those with significant financial need. “Congress should no longer prop this fraudulent industry up with taxpayer funds…that are supposed to help the lowest income students.”
Blog
Six Months into 2020: Wins for Students and Fighting for Justice | Blog
Six months into 2020 and the Project on Predatory Student Lending has won a major lawsuit against the Department of Education in Vara v DeVos, and agreed to a proposed settlement in Sweet v DeVos. They’ve also continued to fight for justice in across other new pieces litigation this year.
Press Releases
Florida For-Profit Colleges Sued for Selling Predatory Product and Targeting Black Students | Press Release
A class action was filed against Florida-based for-profit college chain, Florida Career College (FCC), for selling a predatory product using false representations and high-pressure sales tactics that leave students in mountains of debt they cannot repay and systematically targeting Black students.
Case Documents
Defendants’ Reply in Support of Their Joint Motion to Compel Arbitration or in the Alternative to Dismiss
Defendants’ filed a reply in support of their motion to compel arbitration, or in the alternative, motion to dismiss.
Plaintiffs’ Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Compel Arbitration, or, in the alternative, Motion to Dismiss
Plaintiffs’ filed their response opposing Defendants’ Motion to Compel Arbitration, or, in the alternative, Motion to Dismiss.
Defendants' Motion to Compel Arbitration or Motion to Dismiss
The Defendants' filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration or, in the alternative, Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Class Action Complaint.
Coverage
Coverage
New York Times
Left in the Lurch by Private Loans From For-Profit Colleges | New York Times
Ms. Campbell’s loan is a tiny fraction of the more than $30 million owed to Florida Career College’s parent company, the International Education Corporation. The company doesn’t care whether she, and thousands of others, ever fully pay it back. Its main reason for lending to people like her is so the company can operate its other, much more lucrative business model — reaping revenue from federal student aid. By law, a tenth of a for-profit school’s revenue must come from sources other than federal financial aid (loans, grants and other programs students use to pay for college) and loans like Ms. Campbell’s help them meet that quota.
Coverage
NBC News
Why Did The CARES Act Give More Money To Hair Schools Than To A Community College? | NBC News
After $14 billion was set aside for higher education in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, Houston Community College and the Paul Mitchell Schools both got financial relief. The Houston college, a public institution with nearly 60,000 students, received $28.3 million. The for-profit hair and cosmetology schools received $30.5 million, despite serving only 20,000 students.
Coverage
NPR
Students Call College That Got Millions In Coronavirus Relief ‘A Sham’ | NPR
A for-profit college received millions of dollars from the federal government to help low-income students whose lives have been upended by the coronavirus outbreak, but that same school, Florida Career College (FCC), is also accused of defrauding students.