WASHINGTON—Today, in light of the sudden closure of the for-profit Marinello Beauty Schools chain, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) led U.S. Senators Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in calling on loan servicers to take swift action to address the needs of Marinello students in Connecticut, Kansas, Nevada, California, and Utah. The Senators urged 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 and swiftly process these applications so students can be relieved of any debt burden incurred while attending a failed school system that deceived its students.

Marinello Beauty Schools announced the closure of all of its 56 U.S. campuses 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. The school’s closure also affects 3,210 enrolled students in California, 209 in Nevada, 179 in Kansas, and 118 in Utah. 

“As you are aware, on February 4, 2016, Marinello Schools of Beauty announced that they would cease operations and instruction at all 56 locations across the United States, effective February 5, 2016,” wrote the senators. “As this is a matter on which former Marinello students must deal directly with you, their loan servicers, we urge you to quickly reach out to affected borrowers to make them aware of the option to apply for closed school loan discharge; to provide them with clear information about how to apply, how to seek support in the application process, and the timeline for receiving discharge; and to immediately begin processing these applications and discharge the loans as quickly as possible.”

Just one day after Marinello Beauty Schools 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, legislation to 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.  

The full text of the letter is available online and below:

CornerStone Education Loan Services                   Edfinancial Services
P.O. Box 145122                                             P.O. Box 36008
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-5122                           Knoxville, TN 37930-6008

FedLoan Servicing                                           Granite State Management & Resources
P.O. Box 69184                                              P.O. Box 3420
Harrisburg, PA 17106-9184                                Concord, NH 03302-3420

Great Lakes Educational Loan Services                 MOHELA
P.O. Box 7860                                                633 Spirit Drive
Madison, WI 53707-7860                                   Chesterfield, MO 63005-1243

Navient                                                         Nelnet
P.O. Box 9500                                                P.O. Box 82561
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18773-9500                             Lincoln, NE 68501-2561

OSLA Servicing                                               VSAC Federal Loans
525 Central Park Drive, Suite 600                        P.O. Box 777
Oklahoma City, OK 73105                                 Winooski, VT 05404

To Whom It May Concern:

In light of the recent sudden closure of the Marinello Schools of Beauty, we write to request that you promptly reach out to affected federal student loan borrowers and process their closed school loan discharge applications as quickly as possible.

As you are aware, on February 4, 2016, Marinello Schools of Beauty announced that they would cease operations and instruction at all 56 locations across the United States, effective February 5, 2016. This closure affects 3,210 enrolled students in California, 467 in Connecticut, 209 in Nevada, 179 in Kansas, and 118 in Utah.

According to the Department of Education, students are eligible to apply for a closed school loan discharge if they were enrolled at any Marinello campus in California, Nevada, or Utah on February 4, 2016 or within 120 days prior, or at any campus in Connecticut or Kansas on February 5, or within 120 days prior.

As this is a matter on which former Marinello students must deal directly with you, their loan servicers, we urge you to quickly reach out to affected borrowers to make them aware of the option to apply for closed school loan discharge; to provide them with clear information about how to apply, how to seek support in the application process, and the timeline for receiving discharge; and to immediately begin processing these applications and discharge the loans as quickly as possible. In dealing with this sudden closure and planning the next steps in their education and careers, student borrowers should not be further burdened by the debt they accumulated while attending these now-closed schools.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and please let us know if we can be helpful in anyway in facilitating the processing of loan discharges for former Marinello students. Please contact Eamonn Collins in Senator Murphy’s office at eamonn_collins@murphy.senate.gov, Jason Unger in Senator Reid’s office at Jason_Unger@reid.senate.gov, Julia Sferlazzo in Senator Boxer’s office Julia_Sferlazzo@boxer.senate.gov, Andrew Fuentes in Senator Feinstein’s office Andrew_Fuentes@feinstein.senate.gov, or James Mikolowsky in Senator Blumenthal’s office James_Mikolowsky@blumenthal.senate.gov with any further questions.

Sincerely,

Christopher S. Murphy

Harry Reid

Barbara Boxer

Dianne Feinstein

Richard Blumenthal