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Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.
Policy and Advocacy Financial Aid Admissions Student Loans News Summary
Policy and Advocacy Financial Aid Admissions Student Loans News Summary

Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 10 - Issue 9

This Week In Washington

Last Friday, Federal Student Aid (FSA) published an updated quarterly report to the FSA Data Center with data through 2025. The reports provided updated information on federal student aid applications, disbursements, and the federal student loan portfolio. Key data highlights include:

  • The federally managed loan portfolio now exceeds $1.61 trillion across 40.9 million borrowers;
  • 7.7 million borrowers with $180 billion in loans are currently in default, representing 11% of the federally managed portfolio; and
  • 76% of borrowers in active repayment are current on their payments, while 23.2% are more than 30 days delinquent.

News You Can Use

According to analysis by the Urban Institute, student loan delinquency rates have returned to levels like those seen before the pandemic after falling to a historic low during the federal payment pause. In August 2025, 15.9% of student loan holders were at least 60 days delinquent or in default, compared with 16.7% in 2019.

According to new data from the American Bar Association, first-time bar passage rates in 2025 rose more than one percent compared to the previous year. First-time bar takers in 2025 achieved an aggregate pass rate of 84.10%.

A coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump Administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing that they aren’t considering race in admissions. The Trump Administration ordered the new policy last August after concern that institutions were using personal statements as proxies to consider race in admissions.

Recent Legislation

The following bill(s) have been recently introduced for consideration by the 119th Congress (2025-26):

H.R. 7893 – FAFSA Verification Efficiency Act [Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI-05)] would amend the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 to improve the process for the verification of social security numbers required to be provided to the Secretary of Education for federal student aid, and for other purposes.

H.R. 7891 – Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026 [Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA-15)] would amend HEA to require the Secretary of Education to prioritize program reviews of institutions of higher education that disburse federal financial aid without verifying the identity of a student whose Free Application for Federal Student Aid presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud.

S. 4114 – Student Protection and Success Act [Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)] would amend HEA to provide for institutional ineligibility based on low cohort repayment rates and to require risk-sharing payments of institutions of higher education.

S. 4097 – The State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act [Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)] would exclude state-based education loans from certain requirements relating to preferred lender arrangements.

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