{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cuellar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402925", "Rep. Cuellar Announces Resources for Brightwood College Students", "2018-12-19", "2018", "2018-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Henry Cuellar", "C001063", "cuellar.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced that the Department of Education (ED) is providing resources to Brightwood College students affected by the December 7th closing of the Education Corporation of America (ECA) in Laredo, TX. This announcement comes as a result of ECA's abrupt closure of dozens of institutions nationwide, affecting thousands of students. Students are encouraged to apply for a closed school loan discharge, if they meet certain criteria.\r\nCongressman Cuellar stated, It is our responsibility to ensure that every student, regardless of their economic background, is prepared to compete in a 21st-century, competitive job market. These students, who have been unfairly deprived of their educational investment, must be justly compensated. I would like to thank Laredo College and TAMIU for their efforts in helping students continue to pursue a higher education. It is my hope that the Department of Education is able to provide them with the federal assistance that they so greatly deserve.\r\n\r\nStudents Eligible to Apply\r\nStudents may be eligible for a closed school loan discharge based on their attendance period at Brightwood College. \r\nStudent loan borrowers (and parents who took out PLUS loans on behalf of students) may be eligible for a 100-percent discharge of their federal student loans borrowed to attend the school under either of the following circumstances:\r\n \r\n    \r\n    Brightwood closed while the student was enrolled, and they did not complete their program because of the closure. If a student was on an approved leave of absence, they are considered to have been enrolled at the school; OR\r\n    \r\n \r\n \r\n    \r\n    The student withdrew from all classes 120 days or less prior to the school closing. This requires active enrollment at Brightwood on or after August 9, 2018.\r\n    \r\n \r\n\r\nTransfer of Course Credits\r\nLaredo College and Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) are offering their services to students who are interested in seeing if they are eligible for transfer. Students may contact the following offices for assistance:\r\n\r\nLaredo College Office of Enrollment and Student Services\r\nFort McIntosh Campus\r\nLerma Pea Building, Room 116\r\nWest End Washington Street\r\nLaredo, Texas 78040\r\nTelephone: (956) 721-5109\r\n\r\nSouth Campus\r\nBilly Hall Student Center, Room 113\r\n5000 South Zapata Highway\r\nLaredo, Texas 78046\r\nTelephone: (956) 794-4109\r\n\r\nTexas A&M International University Office of Admissions\r\nZaffirini Success Center, Suite 129\r\n5201 University Boulevard\r\nLaredo, Texas 78041\r\nTelephone: (956) 326-2200\r\nAdditional resources include various state agencies working in coordination with the Department of Education to transfer student course credits to other local institutions. The following Texas offices are participating:\r\n\r\nTexas Department of Licensing and Regulation\r\n920 Colorado Street\r\nAustin, TX 78701\r\nPhone: 512-463-6599\r\nWebsite: www.tdlr.texas.gov \r\nTexas Higher Education Coordinating Board\r\n1200 East Anderson Lane\r\nAustin, TX 78752\r\nPhone: 512-427-6101\r\nWebsite: www.thecb.state.tx.us \r\n\r\nTexas Work Force Commission\r\n101 East 15th Street\r\nAustin, TX 78778\r\nPhone: 512-936-3100\r\nWebsite: www.twc.texas.gov \r\n\r\nThe ED is working on an institution-by-institution basis to facilitate these transfers of course credits. For more information on services offered by the ED to address the ECA school closings, visit www.StudentAid.gov/eca. Students can find resources to help transfer credits to another school, obtain their academic records, explore Pell grant eligibility, and more.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://cuellar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=402925"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7291671354323626, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}