Student Loans

Student loans create debt burdens that impact families for generations. Black Americans in general, and Black and Latina women in particular -- often are forced to take on more college debt than their white counterparts in pursuit of the American Dream. The student debt burden is felt most acutely by attendees of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. CRL successfully led a coalition of advocates that achieved substantial student debt cancellation in 2022. We continue to advocate for higher education policies to protect student loan borrowers and their parents from falling into a cycle of debt that keeps them from engaging in wealth-building activities. 

Filter Results

Road to Relief: Supporting Federal Student Loan Borrowers During the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond

Road to Relief: Supporting Federal Student Loan Borrowers During the COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond

Even before COVID-19, student loan borrowers struggled under the weight of more than $1.6 trillion in debt. One in four borrowers was in default or serious delinquency, and many worried about their ability to make student loan payments while covering other basic needs. Because of decades of structural inequities and discrimination, student loans have burdened Black and Latino borrowers more...
More
Research
Student Loans

System Reboot: Challenges & Opportunities at the State Level for Higher Education During COVID-19 & Beyond

System Reboot: Challenges & Opportunities at the State Level for Higher Education During COVID-19 & Beyond

The COVID-19 crisis has profound financial impacts on families across the country and on the economy overall. With businesses shuttered (including 40% of Black businesses) and record-breaking unemployment claims filed since March 2020, it is hard to overstate the financial instability and hardship this global pandemic has produced. And it will only get worse. The federal government’s response to the...
More
Policy & Legislation
Student Loans

Stepping Up: States Move to Hold Student Loan Servicers Accountable

Stepping Up: States Move to Hold Student Loan Servicers Accountable

Download a table of state student loan servicing laws from the report. (Updated September 2022) Today, 44 million Americans are saddled with student loan debt. They currently owe over $1.5 trillion—an amount which has more than doubled over the last decade. The causes of this exploding debt burden are many: increasing tuition, stagnant wages, the shifting role of federal government...
More
Research
Student Loans

Polling Memo: Voters Support Strong Consumer Financial Protections and Tough Regulation of Wall Street

Polling Memo: Voters Support Strong Consumer Financial Protections and Tough Regulation of Wall Street

Ten years after passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, with the country again facing an economic crisis, new polling data from Lake Research Partners, commissioned by the Center for Responsible Lending and Americans for Financial Reform shows that voters across all political parties are broadly and intensely supportive of strong consumer financial protections and of...
More
Research
Consumer Finance Debt Collection & Settlement Overdraft Fees Student Loans Payday and Other Small Dollar Loans

The Critical Relief of Student Debt Cancellation Must Remain in HR 6800 - the HEROES Act

The Critical Relief of Student Debt Cancellation Must Remain in HR 6800 - the HEROES Act

From the letter to Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Scott, and Chairman McGovern: As Congress works to better protect Americans from the economic fallout of COVID-19, the financial difficulties of 44 million student loan borrowers and the effect of this debt on the economy cannot be forgotten. The relief in HEROES, especially the $10,000 of cancellation per borrower, will have a significant...
More
Letters to Congress
Student Loans

Joint Statement: Narrowing Student Debt Cancellation In HEROES Act Leaves Out Millions

Joint Statement: Narrowing Student Debt Cancellation In HEROES Act Leaves Out Millions

A joint statement on the choice to narrow student loan debt cancellation in the HEROES Act from Action Center on Race and the Economy, American Federation of Teachers, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Demos, Generation Progress, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), Student Borrower Protection Center, Student Debt Crisis.
More
Letters to Congress
Student Loans

Strong Bipartisan Support for Permanently Reducing Student Loan Debt by $20,000 for All Borrowers

Strong Bipartisan Support for Permanently Reducing Student Loan Debt by $20,000 for All Borrowers

A majority of Americans across all regions of the US support permanently reducing student loan debt by $20,000 for all borrowers, according to a new bipartisan poll by Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting. Download the poll results Download the top lines
More
Research
Student Loans

Comment on the ED’s Proposed Distance Education Rule: As More Programs Move Online, Do Not Weaken Student Protections

Comment on the ED’s Proposed Distance Education Rule: As More Programs Move Online, Do Not Weaken Student Protections

From the full comment letter: As more borrowers than ever migrate to online platforms, the Department’s role in ensuring program integrity is even more vital. The consensus language in the NPRM represents the best compromise between industry, innovators, and borrowers. If it is changed at all, it should be strengthened, not weakened. The final rule should include the consensus definitions...
More
Comment Letter
Student Loans
Displaying 51 - 60 of 139