Students at the now-closed Marinello Beauty Schools should have their federal loan forgiveness expedited by loan servicers, Connecticut U.S. senators said.

Connecticut U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, and three of their Senate colleagues, are urging loan servicers to immediately make students aware of the steps they can take to discharge their federal loans through a closed school loan discharge application process.

Marinello Beauty Schools closed all of its 56 locations in Connecticut, Kansas, Nevada, California, and Utah on Feb. 4 after the Department of Education revoked the eligibility of 23 Marinello campuses to participate in federal student aid programs. The department had previously uncovered serious violations by Marinello Schools of Beauty, including enrolling students with invalid high school diplomas, underawarding federal student aid refunds to students, and charging students for excessive overtime.

Marinello enrolled 467 Connecticut students at campuses in East Hartford, Fairfield, Hamden, Meriden, Niantic, Torrington and Willimantic.

One day after Marinello announced its immediate closure, Murphy, a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, called on the U.S. Senate to pass his Students Before Profits Act.
The legislation would protect students and taxpayers from deceptive practices and bad actors in the for-profit college sector. The bill ensures students have access to important and accurate information, strengthens oversight and regulation, and holds for-profit schools and their executives accountable for violations and poor performance.