The
Princeton Review was recently named in a civil fraud lawsuit filed by the State
of New York and the US Department of Education.
The suit alleges that from 2006 to 2010, the company “fraudulently
claimed millions of dollars of federal money for tutoring services it never
provided to hundreds of underprivileged students in New York City[i].”
Under
the federal Supplemental Education Services program, the Princeton Review was
reimbursed for providing tutoring services to low-performing students in underperforming
schools. The civil fraud suit claims
that some of the Princeton Review employees forged student signatures,
falsified sign-in sheets and provided faked certifications to “deceitfully
profit from a well-meaning program.” The
suit further claims there instances where reimbursement was given for school
holidays and when students were on vacation[ii]. The Princeton Review does not deny the allegations.
As
the State of New York, Department of Education, and the Princeton Review are
working to the resolve the charges, it appears the Princeton Review will get a
slap on the risk, pay a fine, take a minor public relations hit, and continue
business as usual like nothing happened.
Lost in the resolution of blatant fraud are the children who were cheated
and denied access to the tutoring support.
How are they going to be compensated?
How do you recover a students’ frustration over struggling in a subject
they were supposed to receive tutoring?
How do students’ recover from failing and having to repeat a class?
When
considering resolution for civil fraud, the impact on children should weigh
heavily on the final disposition of the civil fraud suit. The Princeton Review should have to provide
some compensation to the students who were victimized by the fraudulent
act. The company should be mandated to
tutor all of the students’ who were fraudulently claimed to have been served
for four years at the costs of the company.
Additionally, the schools that participated in the Supplemental
Education Services tutoring program should receive four years of SAT Prep
(including materials) at cost to the company.
Lastly, as part of the disposition, the company should have to SAT
income eligible registration scholarships to the affected schools.
The
alleged fraud conducted by the Princeton Review not only took federal funds, it
may have taken the dreams and aspirations of some students. How many students’ may have decided to drop
out? How many students’ may have decided
not to pursue a post-secondary education?
How many students may have lost confidence because they are struggling
academically?
We
may never know what students’ dreams have been deferred by this senseless act
of corporate greed. There needs to be a
statement that gets the attention of those entities who would take away
opportunities from underprivileged, academically struggling youth to achieve
the American Dream.
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