PHOENIX — Taking a page out of Doug Ducey’s playbook, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos last week made it easier for shady for-profit administrators to get their hands on students’ money.

The Education Department decision will overturn a “regulation that would have forced for-profit colleges to prove that the students they enroll are able to attain decent-paying jobs.”

What does this have to do with Doug Ducey?

Last year, Ashford University, a for-profit college headquartered in California, failed to obtain approval to receive GI Bill education benefits in its home state, a requirement for colleges trying to serve veterans. Ashford University then went shopping for a governor whose administration had laxer oversight of veterans benefits — and found an ally in Doug Ducey.

Doug Ducey, a fan of Betsy DeVos, played a critical role in allowing Ashford to set up an office in Phoenix and avoid having to seek approval from its home state to serve veterans.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs then stepped in and said that Ashford could receive GI Bill dollars only if it received approval from its home state.

“Doug Ducey and Betsy DeVos are dishonoring veterans and making it even harder for young Arizonans to get ahead by allowing shady for-profit schools to take advantage of them,” said Les Braswell, communications director for the Arizona Democratic Party. “Voters will hold Ducey accountable for his anti-education agenda come November.”