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 Supplement

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

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

SBA Student Loan Restriction Impacts Black and Latino Business Owners Disproportionately

SBA Student Loan Restriction Impacts Black and Latino Business Owners Disproportionately

Over 800,000 self-employed people were behind on their student debt before the pandemic and may be ineligible or have the perception that they are ineligible for the relief they need to survive in a faltering economy. Because of structural inequities including racial wealth disparities, ongoing discrimination in the labor market, and inadequate funding for colleges that well serve higher numbers...
More
Research
Student Loans

Coalition Applauds Bicameral Resolution Calling on Biden to Cancel $50K of Student Debt

Coalition Applauds Bicameral Resolution Calling on Biden to Cancel $50K of Student Debt

The Center for Responsible Lending applauds Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Elizabeth Warren; Representatives Pressley, Adams, Bowman, Jones, Omar, and Torres; and Chairwoman Waters for their bicameral resolution urging President Biden to take executive action to cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt using legal authorities already granted by Congress. Cancelling student debt will provide both immediate financial...
More
Letters to Congress
Student Loans

Amicus Brief: McCoy Student Debt Bankruptcy Discharge

Amicus Brief: McCoy Student Debt Bankruptcy Discharge

Today the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) filed this brief in the Supreme Court in support of Thelma McCoy's petition to have the court take up undue hardship discharge for student debt in bankruptcy. Currently and for some time, different courts of appeal have split in how they interpret what is "undue hardship," with some courts taking a holistic "totality...
More
Amicus Brief
Student Loans

Over 325 Orgs Call on President-Elect Biden to Cancel Federal Student Debt on Day One using Executive Action

Over 325 Orgs Call on President-Elect Biden to Cancel Federal Student Debt on Day One using Executive Action

328 undersigned community, civil rights, climate, health, consumer, labor, and student advocacy organizations wrote to urge President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris to boost the economy, tackle racial disparities, and provide much-needed stimulus to help all Americans weather the pandemic and the associated recession by using executive authority to cancel federal student debt on day one of the new administration.
More
Letters to Congress
Student Loans

Poll: North Carolina Student Loan Borrowers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Poll: North Carolina Student Loan Borrowers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Key points from the poll results include: Forty-five percent of NC student loan borrowers report a decrease in their household income since the onset of COVID-19, with the most severe impact hitting borrowers who earn less than $50,000 per year (55% reporting a decrease). Seventy-three percent of NC student loan borrowers report that their student loans cause them stress. Additionally...
More
Research
Student Loans

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

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

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
Displaying 41 - 50 of 135