We Can’t Afford To Wait
How States And Municipalities Can Help Curtail The Student Debt Crisis
By Anne
Johnson
and |Maggie
Thompson
Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
January 2016
1 Generation
Progress
We Can’t Afford
To Wait: How States and Municipalities
CONTENTS
3
The Crisis
4
Seeking Immediate Relief: Addressing
the Current Debt
7
A Clean Sweep: Fixing Student Loan
Servicing
9
Cracking Down on Predatory Schools
10
A Look Ahead: Making Free or DebtFree Options the New Norm
13
National Problems, Local Solutions
14
About the Authors
15
End Notes
2 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
The Crisis
In 2012, Americans learned an inconvenient truth—outstanding student debt
crossed the trillion dollar mark, and millions of borrowers were in default.1 On
the heels of the Great Recession, many Americans began to ask, “could this
be the next crisis?” Policymakers and advocates increased their attention on
the impact of heavy student debt burdens, and President Obama called upon
Congress to act.2 Yet by 2016, student debt continues to climb and millions
more have defaulted, with no solution in sight at the federal level from a
gridlocked Congress.
With student debt burdens worsening and the federal government sitting
on the sidelines, community and political leaders have started to fill the void,
exploring their options to stop the negative consequences of student debt
from impacting their cities, counties, and states. In this paper, we outline a
portfolio of policy options for state and local leaders can pursue to mitigate
the effects of student debt. We also offer solutions to address the root causes
of the crisis: cost and accountability for institutions and lenders.
Forty-three million people in the United States owe some amount of
student loan debt. Exceeding $1.3 trillion, the total student debt in
the U.S. surpasses both the amount of credit card debt and car loans.
However, this figure is an underestimate of debt caused by higher
education, because for many families, home equity loans and credit
cards have become an important part of financing college.3
Because the true amount of debt associated with education held by
students and families is underestimated by available data, the growth
of the student debt crisis shown by existing data is especially alarming.
The overall amount of student loan debt is growing, but the problem
is worsening for individual borrowers, too. Students are graduating
with increasing amounts of debt each year. Seven in 10 college seniors
obtaining a bachelor’s degree in the class of 2014 graduated with debt,
and carried an average debt of $28,950.4
The student debt crisis is widespread and continues to worsen.
However, despite the national scale of the issue, local- and state-based
solutions can provide significant relief for Americans drowning in
student debt.
3 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
Seeking Immediate Relief: Addressing the
Current Debt
While long-term solutions are necessary, states and municipalities have a
number of tools at their disposal that can provide significant and swift relief
to borrowers. Many of these solutions have already been implemented
successfully in states and municipalities across the country. These policies,
explored in depth below, include: increasing awareness around and
enrolling borrowers in existing programs to lower their debt, allowing for
the refinancing of student loans, ending counterproductive penalties for
borrowers who default, and ending credit checks for employment.
Enroll Borrowers in Loan Forgiveness and Income-Driven Repayment
Programs
The vast majority of borrowers with student loan debt have federal loans—
either loans made through the Department of Education’s Direct Loan
program or, for borrowers with older loans, loans made through the Family
Federal Education Loan (FFEL) program. Federal student loan borrowers are
entitled to several programs that may allow them to lower their monthly
payments or have their loans forgiven after a set period of time. Public Service
Loan Forgiveness, for instance, is one of the most generous programs available
to borrowers with federal loans. It allows any individual employed in the public
sector with certain types of federal loans to have their loans forgiven after 10
years of repayment.
CASE STUDY
WISCONSIN &
OHIO
The County Board in Dane County, Wisconsin and the City
Council in Cincinnati, Ohio passed resolutions to ensure that
their own employees would be informed of their right to
public loan forgiveness. The benefit offers significant loan
forgiveness to public servants, potentially allowing them to
afford to stay in public service.
Despite the substantial benefits income-driven repayment plans and loan
forgiveness programs offer, many borrowers may be unaware of the programs
available to them. Seventy percent of Federal Direct Loan borrowers in default,
4 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
for instance, met the income requirements for lower monthly payments under
an existing income-driven repayment plan, meaning that many student loan
defaults are avoidable.5 Local and state governments can step in and fill this
information gap, increasing awareness of federal programs on the local level.
By informing their employees of their eligibility for these programs, states and
municipalities can use existing programs and policies to provide immediate
relief to struggling borrowers.
Allow the Refinancing of Student Loans at the State or Local Level
Although nearly every kind of consumer debt can be refinanced to take
advantage of changing interest rates, most borrowers are unable to refinance
their student loans. This leaves individual student loan borrowers locked into
high interest rates, hampering their ability to pay down their original loan.
In Congress, lawmakers introduced legislation allowing for the refinancing
of student loans. Though the legislation failed to pass in 2014, student loan
refinancing is still a viable—and valuable—option on the state and local level.
Through the use of a state or municipal bonding authority, states could enable
student loan borrowers to refinance their loans at lower rates. By instituting
this policy, states could lower monthly payments and allow borrowers to put
more money back into local economies. Refinancing student loans at the
state level could assist many borrowers, especially those with high-interest
private loans. However, state student loan refinancing authorities would need
significant safeguards to ensure consumer protections and loan modification
programs for borrowers refinancing their loans are equivalent to what they
would have had with their previous lenders. This includes income-driven
repayment and loan forgiveness programs available to federal loan borrowers.
CASE STUDY
WISCONSIN &
MARYLAND
Wisconsin was the first state to introduce the Higher Ed,
Lower Debt bill to allow borrowers to refinance their student
loans into a state student loan authority. Other states, such
as Rhode Island, have existing student loan authorities that
allow borrowers to refinance their loans lower interest rates.
Recently, lawmakers in Montgomery County, Maryland drafted
legislation to establish a loan authority that would give the
county the ability to leverage its municipal borrowing power to
allow residents to refinance at lower rates.
5 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
States would also benefit from refinancing: in addition to a potential increase
in state revenue, if the right to refinance student loans were coupled with a
residency requirement, states might see more residents staying in-state. Thus,
while refinancing remains out of reach at the federal level, states can take
matters into their own hands and find alternative ways to offer borrowers this
important tool.
End Counterproductive Penalties for Borrowers in Default
Another immediate remedy available to states involves reforming penalties
for borrowers in default. In 21 states, driver’s or professional licenses can be
withheld or revoked due to a default on a student loan.6 This policy is not
only punitive, but also counterproductive. For an individual in default, losing
access to a driver’s or professional license may impede their ability to obtain
or access work, further limiting their ability to pay down their loans. Instead
of creating obstacles in the path to financial security, states must do more to
help borrowers avoid or get out of default so they can fully contribute to local
economies.
CASE STUDY
MONTANA
In 2015, because of the work of borrower advocates, the
Montana state legislature repealed a law allowing the state
to revoke people’s driver’s licenses for defaulting on their
student loans.7
End Credit Checks on Employment
Borrowers need employment to pay off their loans, but many employers have
policies that make it needlessly difficult for borrowers to get a job. Research
shows that nearly half of employers check credit histories for at least some
positions within their firms.8 Given the rising levels of student debt American
graduates carry, an individual’s debt-to-income ratio or student debt status is
not necessarily an appropriate indicator for his or her job-readiness. State and
local governments can enact legislation to ensure that borrowers who were
forced to take out student loans in response to rising college costs are not
penalized by employers’ use of credit checks.
Furthermore, laws ending credit checks on employment can and have been
structured to have reasonable exceptions for certain jobs in government or law
6 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
enforcement or for positions putting individuals in charge of major financial
decisions.9 Local and state legislators have an imperative to take action to
ensure that student loan debt is not a barrier for qualified individuals seeking a
job.
CASE STUDY
NEW YORK
In 2015 the New York City Council passed a bill that prohibits
employers from using credit checks to screen job applicants.10
The bill included several exemptions for certain types of job
in law enforcement or for employees with authority over
significant third-party assets. This effort is expected to help
end discrimination against minority job applicants who are
often victims of predatory lenders.
A Clean Sweep: Fixing Student Loan
Servicing
The student debt crisis requires immediate relief. However, there are several
state and local solutions that, while not immediate, will ultimately provide
substantial relief to borrowers. One such solution involves cleaning up the
student loan servicing industry.
Today, too many student loan borrowers are getting the runaround from
their student loan servicers—the companies responsible for sending bills and
making sure payments are properly processed.11 Sometimes, servicer mistakes
can lead to errors on credit reports, late fees, penalties, and other headaches
for borrowers.
In the years leading up to the mortgage crisis, states sought to take action
by making new standards for mortgage loan servicers that protected
homeowners. Given the similarity between problems in mortgage servicing
and what we are seeing in student loan servicing, states can help student loan
borrowers through a number of potential legislative and regulatory reforms.
These reforms include enacting a borrower’s bill of rights, establishing a
student loan ombudsman, and licensing student loan servicers.
7 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
Enact a Borrower’s Bill of Rights
In recent years, President Obama signed into law a number of new protections
for consumers with credit cards and mortgages, yet there is no similar
framework for student loan borrowers. A Student Loan Borrower’s Bill of
Rights that establishes minimum standards for timely payment processing,
disclosures about alternative repayment plans, and response times for fixing
errors would help resolve many of the types of problems that borrowers face.
Every state has a designated state banking regulator, and some states may
have laws in place that allow these regulators to develop rules to govern
student loan servicers. If they are not currently authorized to do so, state
legislation can empower them to establish—and enforce—these standards.
Establish a Student Loan Ombudsman
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act established
an ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to assist
borrowers with student loan complaints.12 The ombudsman is required to file
annual reports and make recommendations to Congress based on an analysis
of these complaints.
State banking departments should designate a state student loan ombudsman
to work with the CFPB and Department of Education to provide additional
assistance to borrowers with complaints. Ideally, the state regulator will
also require student loan companies serving consumers in a particular
state to include information on disclosures, billing statements, and other
communications on how borrowers can contact the ombudsman. The
ombudsman should also provide testimony before relevant state legislative
committees and provide regular reports on efforts to assist borrowers.
License Student Loan Servicers
Just as states require licenses for the mortgage industry, states should also
require that student loan servicers obtain a license and report data on a
quarterly basis to the state banking department. This data should include the
number of borrowers, outstanding loan balances, loan type, enrollment in
alternative repayment programs, and other key information. State regulators
should make this aggregated information on licensees public and subject
licensees to routine examinations to ensure consumer protection laws are
being followed.
8 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
Connecticut was the first state to pass a Borrower’s Bill of
Rights.13 The state established a Student Loan Ombudsman to
be housed in the Department of Banking, paid for by fees levied
CASE STUDY on student loan servicers. The legislation requires student loan
servicers to register with the Department of Banking and the
ombudsman will help students resolve complaints with these
servicers and with their university. The ombudsman will also
compile data on borrower complaints and develop a student
borrower education course to help improve financial literacy
among college students.14
CONNECTICUT
Cracking Down on Predatory Schools
For-profit schools generate a disproportionately high amount of the national
student debt.15 Therefore, to address the student debt epidemic in the longer
term, states should monitor and evaluate the practices of colleges in-state.
The recent collapse of Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit school chain repeatedly
accused of defrauding students, provided a stark reminder that states must
step up to make up for lax federal oversight.16
Federal law requires that schools be authorized by an agency at the state level,
but many of these state agencies have done little to police the activities of
unscrupulous schools. Stronger enforcement and oversight by state authorities
will help stop abuses before they become problems nationwide.17
Ensure Vigorous Oversight of Schools
States typically have boards or agencies charged with approving schools to
operate within their borders. State approval is a prerequisite for participating in federal student aid programs. Unfortunately, some of these boards and
agencies are governed by school officials themselves.18 States should ensure
that these oversight bodies are completely independent and represent the
public, not the industry they regulate.
These state boards and agencies should be transparent about their activities,
publishing all documentation used when determining eligibility for approval.
These bodies should also be required to solicit public input on approval of
for-profit schools by holding public hearings and offering opportunities for
students and the public to comment. They should annually report on their
9 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
onsite inspections and examinations of schools, as well as whether they have
assessed any fines or sanctions. If they do not have adequate authority to
assess fines, state law should authorize them to do so.
Create a Student Protection Unit within Attorneys General Offices
State attorneys general typically enforce laws on unfair and deceptive
practices by for-profit colleges. In fact, many attorneys general have already
filed lawsuits against bad actors in the industry.19 To ensure that the protection
of students is not overlooked by state enforcement authorities, states should
explicitly designate an office reporting to the Attorney General that is
accountable for overseeing and coordinating all state enforcement activities
on student protection. This office will work closely with other state and federal
agencies, the Department of Education, and other stakeholders to monitor
student complaints and pursue enforcement actions against law-breaking
institutions.
Establish Institution-Financed State Tuition Recovery Funds
In the wake of the collapse of Corinthian Colleges in 2014, states must examine
new mechanisms to ensure that students who attended predatory institutions
can be reimbursed for the costs they incurred at their school. States can create
state tuition recovery funds to ensure that students are compensated if they
attend a school that closes as Corinthian did.20 However, taxpayers should
not be held responsible for the financial consequences of a school closure.
Instead, State Tuition Recovery Funds should be funded by fees collected from
institutions. Currently only 22 states maintain a State Tuition Recovery Fund.21
More states must put in place protections that will ensure that predatory
schools, not students and taxpayers, are the ones who will pay if a school
collapses.
In the states that have State Tuition Recovery Funds, work needs to be done to
ensure that the funds are adequately funded and solvent. The recovery funds
must also be public and accessible to students to ensure that they know where
to go for relief.
A Look Ahead: Making Free or Debt-Free
Options the New Norm
Policies that assist individuals and families currently dealing with student
debt present the first step to solving this crisis. However, the United States
10 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
has a system of higher education that is churning out individuals
with higher levels of debt each year, for both graduates and nongraduates.22 To truly address the root cause of the student debt
crisis, states must adopt policies that make higher education
a public good again, rather than an increasingly unaffordable
private investment undertaken by students and families. A
large-scale reinvestment in higher education at the state level is
needed. There are numerous policies states can pursue to address
the root causes of the current crisis, which is tied closely to
spiraling costs.
Restore Support for Public Colleges to Pre-Recession Levels
The cost of higher education has increased astronomically in
recent decades and public support for higher education and
family earnings has been unable to keep pace.23 In 2002, a
median-income family would have needed to spend 23 percent
of its income to pay the tuition, fees, and room and board for one
child in a four-year college. By 2012, a similar family would have needed to
spend 33 percent of its income to pay those same expenses.24 Since the Great
Recession 49 states have spent less per student on higher education than prerecession, and this disinvestment has corresponded with drastic increases in
tuition.25
States must sufficiently invest in public higher education to bring state
support back to pre-recession levels. Many states are also exploring ways to
make a college education debt-free for students. State leaders should look at
innovative strategies and new sources of revenue to reinvest in public higher
education if they want to arrest the acceleration of the student debt crisis in
their communities.
In Massachusetts advocates released a study outlining
the cost to the state of making all public institutions debtfree.26 Advocates are using this study to drive a statewide
ballot initiative to raise state funding for debt-free public
college. The initiative would create an additional tax of four
percentage points on annual income above $1 million to pay for
debt-free college at every state institution.
CASE STUDY
MASSACHUSETTS
11 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
Make Community College Free
Since President Obama announced in January 2015 the America’s College
Promise campaign, free community college programs have been springing
up across the country.27 Given that almost half of students in the higher
education system are community college students, and that community
college is a gateway for first-generation students to attain a higher education,
enhancing access to community college is one of the most impactful things a
state can do to boost college affordability and completion.
CASE STUDY
TENNESSEE &
OREGON
States like Tennessee and Oregon and cities like Chicago and
Milwaukee have all passed free community college programs.28
In Tennessee the Tennessee Promise program covers any
tuition costs that are not covered by federal aid for a student.
Some programs, like the Milwaukee program, which makes the
Milwaukee Area Technical College tuition-free, are funded by
private foundations rather than state or local governments.
Examine Student Fees
As tuition costs have soared, advocates and students on various campuses
across the nation have seen a jump in student fees for meal plans or other
campus services. Some of these fees constitute a new way for institutions
to generate revenue without raising tuition in an environment where state
funding for higher education is still below pre-recession levels.29
Some states have started to examine whether mandatory fees charged
to students are appropriate for the services provided or if they needlessly
increase the cost of college for students by making them pay for goods
they may not use.30 At the University of Tennessee, for example, commuter
students were required to pay for meal plans that many did not use.31 Other
schools have mandatory fees associated with athletic programs regardless of
a student’s participation.32 State legislatures should examine any mandatory
student fees charged by institutions and ensure that the fees are appropriate
for the services rendered and are not being used by institutions to fill budget
gaps.
12 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
CASE STUDY
NEW JERSEY
The New Jersey State Assembly passed a bill that would ban
New Jersey’s colleges and universities from forcing students
to purchase meal plans. The bill required that meal plans come
in the form of pre-paid debit cards that would give students
refunds for unused meals.33
Establish Tuition Equity for DREAMers
Undocumented students are currently prohibited from accessing federal
education benefits, and in many states they are also denied in-state tuition
rates. With college costs soaring, these restrictions can create insurmountable
barriers for undocumented students hoping to obtain a higher education.
Some states have started to address this issue by passing in-state DREAM Acts
that allow undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates.34
Currently at least 18 states have implemented provisions allowing some
undocumented students to pay the same tuition at public institutions of
higher education as their documented peers.35 Some states have achieved this
through legislative action and others through decisions made by a Board of
Regents.36 More states must act to provide “in-state,” more affordable tuition to
undocumented students.
CASE STUDY
MINNESOTA
Minnesota passed the Minnesota Dream Act in 2013. The act
gives some undocumented students access to in-state tuition
at Minnesota public colleges and universities and access to
Minnesota state financial aid and privately funded financial aid
through Minnesota’s public institutions.37
National Problems, Local Solutions
In recent years, the need for leaders across the country to address the student
debt crisis—both in the immediate and in the long-term—has become
abundantly clear. The magnitude of the debt held, the increasing amount
of debt per student, the spiraling costs of college, and the lack of consumer
13 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
protections for borrowers all reflect the urgency of the growing crisis. In the
absence of meaningful and sweeping action at the federal level to address not
just the current debt, but a higher education system that continues to produce
it at rising levels, state and localities must step up to arrest the impact of
student debt on their communities.
About the Authors
Anne Johnson is the Executive Director of Generation Progress, the youth
division of the Center for American Progress. Prior to joining CAP, Anne was a
Senior Campaign Specialist at the National Education Association, where she
focused on grassroots fundraising, creating opportunities for young members,
and managing political engagement programs and electoral campaigns. Prior
to NEA, Anne served as the national field director for SEIU COPE, supervising a
staff of union organizers to develop local and national fundraising and political
engagement programs.
Originally from Minnesota, Anne was the Deputy Field Director on Paul
Wellstone’s 2002 re-election campaign. After the campaign Anne helped
found Wellstone Action, a nonprofit civic engagement training organization.
Through her work she has become a respected expert on youth issues and
political engagement. She has also consulted with numerous state and federal
candidates and progressive organizations to develop young voter turnout
programs and national issue campaigns.
Anne has developed curricula and led trainings for numerous organizations
and campaigns, including Obama for America, in addition to leading trainings
and giving presentations on Millennial engagement and the political process
in Turkey, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada and India.​She has also worked
with the National Democratic Institute’s Middle East and North Africa Program
on political trainings and election monitoring in the West Bank.
A University of Minnesota graduate, Anne began her career working at the
United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, as a fellow at the Sub-Commission for
the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights.
Maggie Thompson is the Campaign Manager for the Higher Ed, Not Debt
campaign, a nationwide multiyear effort working to ensure that a quality
higher education is affordable and accessible to all without the burden of
financial hardship.
Prior to joining Generation Progress, Maggie was a founding member of
Brass Tactics, a grassroots advocacy firm that engaged on key progressive
priorities including bringing nontraditional voices to the climate-change
fight, implementing the Affordable Care Act in states, and organizing for gunviolence-prevention legislation. She was also a state outreach director at the
Common Purpose Project, helping to oversee numerous issue campaigns
14 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
across the Midwest, including “The Action,” the successful campaign to avert
the fiscal cliff by ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
Maggie served in the Obama administration at the White House Council on
Environmental Quality as well as in the Office of the Director at U.S. Citizenship
and Immigration Services. During her time in both offices, she not only worked
on administration policy but also assisted in designing public engagement
strategies to introduce administration priorities.
Maggie has also worked as a trainer with Wellstone Action since 2005, when
she assisted in the development of the first Campus Camp Wellstone program.
She worked for then-Sen. Barack Obama starting in 2007 during the Nevada
primaries and became a regional field director in the 2008 Obama for America
campaign in Saint Paul. She has also worked on races ranging in size from
county commissioner to statehouse to mayoral. Prior to her work in politics,
Maggie worked as a field archaeologist in central Greece and Germany.
She graduated with a degree in economics and classical archaeology from
Macalester College.
END NOTES
Josh Mitchell, Maya Jackson-Randall,
“Student-Loan Debt Tops $1 Trillion,” Wall
Street Journal, March 22, 2012, available
at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1000
142405270230381290457729593004760
4846.
2
Barack H. Obama, “State of the Union
Address,” January 24, 2012, available at:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-pressoffice/2012/01/24/remarks-presidentstate-union-address.
3
The Institute for College Access &
Success, “Student Debt and the Class of
2014,” October, 2015, available at http://
ticas.org/posd/map-state-data-2015.
4
Ibid.
5
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
“CFPB Concerned About Widespread
Servicing Failures Reported by Student
Loan Borrowers” (2015), available at
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
newsroom/cfpb-concerned-aboutwidespread-servicing-failures-reported-bystudent-loan-borrowers/.
6
Natalie Kitroeff, “These States Will Take
Away Your License for Not Paying Student
Loans,” Bloomberg Business, March 25,
2015, available at http://www.bloomberg.
com/news/articles/2015-03-25/these1
states-will-take-your-license-for-notpaying-student-loans.
7
JC Sevcik, “How activists are fighting
driver’s license-revoking student loan
laws,” The Daily Dot, May 5, 2015,
available at: http://www.dailydot.com/
politics/montana-defaulters-drivinglicenses/.
8
Amy Traub, “Discredited: How
Employment Credit Checks Keep Qualified
Workers Out of a Job,” Demos, February,
2013, available at http://www.demos.
org/discredited-how-employment-creditchecks-keep-qualified-workers-outjob#common.
9
Nikita Stewart, “New York City Council
Votes to Restrict Credit Checks in Hiring,”
New York Times, April 16, 2015, available
at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/
nyregion/new-york-city-council-votes-torestrict-credit-checks-in-hiring.html.
10
Ibid.
11
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau,
“CFPB Concerned About Widespread
Servicing Failures Reported by Student
Loan Borrowers” (2015), available at
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
newsroom/cfpb-concerned-aboutwidespread-servicing-failures-reported-bystudent-loan-borrowers/.
15 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
Ibid.
Office of Governor Dannel P. Malloy,
“Governor Malloy Signs Legislation to
Help Ease College Debt, Implement a
Student Loan Bill of Rights,” September
24, 2015, available at: http://portal.
ct.gov/Departments_and_Agencies/
Office_of_the_Governor/Press_Room/
Press_Releases/2015/09-2015/Gov__
Malloy_Signs_Legislation_to_Help_Ease_
College_Debt,_Implement_a_Student_
Loan_Bill_of_Rights/.
14
State of Connecticut General Assembly,
“Raised Bill No. 6915: Concerning a
Student Loan Bill of Rights,” January, 2015,
available at: https://www.cga.ct.gov/2015/
TOB/H/2015HB-06915-R00-HB.htm.
15
Michael Stratford, “Pointing a Finger at
For-Profits,” Inside Higher Ed, September
11, 2015, available at: https://www.
insidehighered.com/news/2015/09/11/
study-finds-profit-colleges-drove-spikestudent-loan-defaults.
16
Tamar Lewin, “Government to Forgive
Student Loans at Corinthian Colleges,”
New York Times, June 8, 2015, available
at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/09/
education/us-to-forgive-federal-loans-ofcorinthian-college-students.html?_r=0.
17
National Consumer Law Center,
“Ensuring Educational Integrity, 10 Steps
to Improve State Oversight of For-Profit
Schools,” June, 2014, available at: https://
www.nclc.org/images/pdf/pr-reports/forprofit-report.pdf.
18
Ibid.
19
National Consumer Law Center,
“Government Investigations and Lawsuits
Involving For-Profit Schools, June, 2014,
available at: https://www.nclc.org/
images/pdf/pr-reports/for-profit-govinvestigations.pdf.
20
Assets & Opportunity Scorecard,
“For-Profit School Regulation,” January,
2015, available at: http://scorecard.
assetsandopportunity.org/latest/measure/
for-profit-school-regulation.
21
Ibid.
22
The Institute for College Access &
Success, “Student Debt and the Class of
2014,” October, 2015, available at http://
ticas.org/posd/map-state-data-2015.
12
13
College Board, “Tuition and Fees and
Room and Board over Time, 1975-76 to
2015-16, Selected Years,” available at:
http://trends.collegeboard.org/collegepricing/figures-tables/tuition-and-feesand-room-and-board-over-time-1975-762015-16-selected-years.
24
David Bergeron, “The Middle Class
Squeeze,” September, 2014, Center for
American Progress, available at: https://
cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/
uploads/2014/09/MCS_4HigherEd.pdf.
25
Robert Hiltonsmith, Tamara Draut,“The
Great Cost Shift Continues: State Higher
Education Funding After the Recession,”
Demos, March 21, 2014, available at:
http://www.demos.org/publication/
great-cost-shift-continues-state-highereducation-funding-after-recession.
26
Luc Schuster and Colin Jones, “Debt-Free
Public Higher Education: What Would It
Take,” MassBudget, July 16, 2015, available
at: http://www.massbudget.org/report_
window.php?loc=Debt-Free_Public_
Higher_Education.html.
27
The Associated Press, “Several States
Trying Out Free Community College
Programs,” November 30, 2015,
available at: http://www.nbcnews.com/
feature/freshman-year/several-statestrying-out-free-community-collegeprograms-n470691.
28
Ibid.
29
Stephanie Saul, “Meal Plan Costs Tick
Upward as Students Pay for More Than
Food,” New York Times, December 5,
2015, available at: http://www.nytimes.
com/2015/12/06/us/meal-plan-costs-tickupward-as-students-pay-for-more-thanfood.html.
30
Matt Friedman, “N.J. College Students
Would No Longer Be Required to Buy Meal
Plans Under Bill Passed by Assembly,”
NJ.com, November 13, 2014, available
at: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.
ssf/2014/11/nj_bill_to_stop_colleges_
from_requiring_students_to_buy_meal_
plans_passes_assembly.html.
31
Stephanie Saul, “Meal Plan Costs Tick
Upward as Students Pay for More Than
Food,” New York Times, December 5,
2015, available at: http://www.nytimes.
23
16 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis
com/2015/12/06/us/meal-plan-costs-tickupward-as-students-pay-for-more-thanfood.html.
32
Will Hobson, Steven Rich, “In the Red,”
The Washington Post, November 23, 2015,
available at: http://www.washingtonpost.
com/sf/sports/wp/2015/11/23/runningup-the-bills/.
33
Matt Friedman, “N.J. College Students
Would No Longer Be Required to Buy Meal
Plans Under Bill Passed by Assembly,”
NJ.com, November 13, 2014, available
at: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.
ssf/2014/11/nj_bill_to_stop_colleges_
from_requiring_students_to_buy_meal_
plans_passes_assembly.html.
34
Zenen Jaimes Perez, “Removing Barriers
to Higher Education for Undocumented
Students,” Generation Progress, December
5, 2014, available at: http://genprogress.
org/ideas/2014/12/05/33525/reportremoving-barriers-to-higher-education-forundocumented-students/.
35
National Conference of State
Legislatures, “Undocumented Student
Tuition: State Action,” June 12, 2014,
available at: http://www.ncsl.org/
research/education/undocumentedstudent-tuition-state-action.aspx.
36
Ibid.
37
Minnesota Office of Higher Education,
“Minnesota Dream Act Fact Sheet,” May,
2013, available at: https://www.ohe.state.
mn.us/pdf/MNDreamActFactSheet.pdf.
17 Generation Progress | We Can’t Afford To Wait: How States and Municipalities Can Help Curtail the Student Debt Crisis