As of March 23, at least 19 states hold or revoke the state-issued licenses of teachers and/or other professionals if the borrower is in default on their student loans. These jurisdictions span the country, both ideologically and geographically:
Servicers Challenge D.C.’s “Borrower’s Bill of Rights”
Like a bevy of other jurisdictions, the District of Columbia has established a “borrower’s bill of rights” which creates minimum standards for timely processing, correction of errors, and communication for servicers of federal student loans.
In response to this state-level action, the U.S. Department of Education recently argued that all such regulations are
What the Budget Deal Passed by Congress and Signed by the President Actually Does: Student Loan Edition
Largely rejecting the Trump Administration’s proposals regarding student lending championed by Betsy DeVos, Secretary of the Department of Education, the $1.3 trillion budget deal announced by Congressional negotiators on March 21 includes a number of provisions that may aid students:
- The budget increases the Pell Grant award by $175 per student, bringing maximum Pell Grants
Talk About an Electric Shock – Power Company Fined $2.7M After Data Breach
Last month, the North American Reliability Corporation (“NERC”) approved a settlement agreement between the Western Electric Coordinating Council (“WECC”) and an unnamed power company that imposed a penalty of $2.7 million on the power company for improper cybersecurity oversight after the company inadvertently allowed critical cyber security data to be exposed online for 70 days.
Surrendering Social Security for the Sake of Student Debt Reduction: The Glacial Progress of the Student Security Act of 2017
Introduced in the House of Representatives on December 7, 2017, by Rep. Thomas A. Garret, Jr. (R-Va.), the Student Security Act of 2017 aims to provide loan forgiveness to borrowers of federal student loans who agree to delay eligibility to collect Social Security benefits. In its current form, the Act would grant $550 in student
In Departure from Obama Administration, DOE to Grant Only Partial Student Debt Relief for Corinthian Alumni
In early March, the Department of Education, led by Secretary Elisabeth Dee DeVos, began informing some former students at campuses once owned by the now-defunct Corinthian Colleges, Inc. that it will forgive only fifty percent or less of their federal student loans. In fact, DeVos had announced her intent to adopt such a plan, a
IRS’s Latest Predilection: Seizing Earned Income Tax Credit to Collect on Outstanding Student Loan Debts
In general, the federal government provides student loans to qualified Americans regardless of their credit history. To facilitate repayment and avoid borrower default, it offers numerous programs, including income-based repayment schemes and, for now, loan forgiveness for public service. Naturally, once a borrower defaults, the government enjoys an extraordinary range of powers for securing
Taking Stock of Washington State’s New Student Education Loan Bill of Rights
On March 15, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington signed the Washington Student Education Loan Bill of Rights. This law had been in the works since 2017 when a report, released by Attorney General Bob Ferguson in December, documented significant disparities across gender, income, age, and race in student loan borrowing and highlighted a handful
Another Bill Aimed at Reducing Student Loan Debt is Introduced in Senate: America’s College Promise Act of 2018
A companion to a bill sponsored by Rep. Robert Scott (D-Va.), America’s College Promise Act, or “ACPA”, introduced in the United States Senate on March 1, strives to minimize the financial hurdles that have induced an extraordinary reliance on private and federal student loans by over 44 million Americans. This previously-introduced bill currently boasts
Ninth Circuit Rules District Attorney Can Retain Private Counsel to Pursue Civil Penalty Claims
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an agreement between a district attorney and private law firms to litigate actions in the name of the district attorney based on a contingency fee agreement does not violate due process.
The decision came after Eric Heryford, District Attorney for Trinity County, California, filed a suit