Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 5 - Issue 2

On Wednesday, President Biden directed the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to continue the pause on federal student loan payments that was set to expire on January 31. Recall that the pause on student loans initially began back in March of 2020 when then-President Trump directed ED to pause all federally held student loan payments. The extension will apply to student loan payments, interest accrual, and collection activities and is expected to extend through at least September 2021.

A recent study by The Harris Poll found that Americans overwhelmingly support several student debt reform ideas, including debt forgiveness, automatic forbearance if someone loses employment, and updating bankruptcy laws to make it easier to discharge student debt, among others.

A former Massachusetts assistant attorney general penned an opinion piece on how making education debt tax deductible would benefit student borrowers.

No relevant student aid bills were introduced this week for consideration by the 117th Congress (2021-2022).