WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rule to protect students from forced arbitration clauses hidden in contracts with their schools falls short of protections needed to ensure all students ripped off by their schools can have their day in court, 41 groups said in comments (PDF) submitted on Monday.

Public Citizen and a coalition of consumer, student, veteran, civil rights and civil justice groups submitted comments to the department applauding the rulemaking, but they asked for critical changes to make it effective.