Sept. 8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education submitted the paperwork to the U.S. Court of Appeals to petition the decision the District of Columbia District Circuit Court made on July 12, 2011 to "vacate" the regulation the U.S. Department of Education made in October 2010 -- that higher education institutions must obtain state authorization to legally offer distance or correspondence courses to students in a state in which it is not physically located, i.e. out-of-state students.

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Sept. 8, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education submitted the paperwork to the U.S. Court of Appeals to petition the decision the District of Columbia District Circuit Court made on July 12, 2011 to "vacate" the regulation the U.S. Department of Education made in October 2010 -- that higher education institutions must obtain state authorization to legally offer distance or correspondence courses to students in a state in which it is not physically located, i.e. out-of-state students.

Michael Goldstein from the Washington law firm Dow, Lohnes and Albertson has alerted his clients that "even if [the Department of Education] loses the appeal, the Secretary could repromulgate the rule, and as long as that occurs before November 1st it could still go into effect [on July 1, 2012]."

Regardless of this decision, states are still within their legal rights for making higher education institutions obtain authorization to teach the students who reside in their states -- online or by any other means. This court decision just pertains to the Department of Education's ability to enforce the state rules by withholding federally-funded financial aid for the students in question. States can still act as they see fit, and institutions must, as always, comply with state law.

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