Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 6 - Issue 23

On Tuesday, the White House released a state-by-state analysis of borrowers who could benefit from the student loan forgiveness that the Biden-Harris Administration announced in late August. Recall that the administration announced a plan to provide up to $20,000 in forgiveness for Pell recipients and $10,000 in forgiveness for all other borrowers. According to the analysis, the White House expects that close to 43 million Americans will be eligible for forgiveness with California, Texas and Florida being the states with the most eligible borrowers. An online form will be available by early October to apply for forgiveness, and borrowers will have until December 31, 2023 to complete the application.

Stanford Law School introduces an income-share agreement program for first-and second-year students.

The following bills have been recently introduced for consideration by the 117th Congress (2021-2022):

H.R. 8872 – Lowering Obstacles to Achievement Now (LOAN) Act [Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24)] would improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, increase the value of higher education for graduate and professional students and make federal student loans less expensive. Read AccessLex Institute’s statement of support.

H.R. 8923 – [Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA-2)] would revise counseling requirements for certain borrowers of student loans.