The rally kicked off with remarks from leaders from The Live Movement, the NAACP, 1000 Women Strong, the Student Debt Crisis Center, and more on what it will take to end the student debt crisis for good. 

The virtual event closed out Generation Progress"s debt-free college for all week of action, which included constituent meetings with U.S. Senate offices, phonebanking, and a storyteller workshop. Participants called for debt-free college solutions, funding for students at HBCUs and MSIs, doubling the maximum Pell grant, and executive action on student debt cancellation.

Note: This event was previously planned as an outdoor rally and march, but was moved online as a result of inclement weather.

 

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Want to learn more about the effort to cancel student debt and make college free? Check out our action toolkit and fact sheet.

The post EVENT: Debt-Free College for All Virtual Rally appeared first on Generation Progress.

Tuition Assistance Programs (TAP) are vital to creating equitable spaces in higher education, yet these programs still aren"t accessible to incarcerated students. During the "tough on crime" era, lawmakers banned incarcerated students from accessing need-based assistance programs like Pell nationwide and TAP in New York. But a movement in New York is working to reverse that legislation for incarcerated New Yorkers.

Equitable access to higher education is critical for justice-involved students in and out of corrections facilities. By 2027, 70% of all jobs will require post-secondary education beyond high school; this coupled with disproportionately high unemployment rates, means formerly incarcerated people re-enter society with a number of barriers to success. Incarcerated women are particularly at risk since they are the fastest-growing segment of the incarceration population, and are often offered even fewer opportunities for higher education behind bars. 

On October 26, 2021, Generation Progress Director of Advocacy Edwith Theogene spoke on the "TAP Restoration Is Women’s Equity" panel hosted by College and Community Fellowship about why TAP restoration is a women"s issue, and how denying access to incarcerated students deepens the divide between men and women.

Panel:

• Serena Martin-Liguori, Executive Director, New Hour for Women and Children-Long Island
• Anisah Sabur, #HALTsolitary Campaign
• Nicole D. Porter, Senior Director of Advocacy, The Sentencing Project
• Edwith Theogene, Director of Advocacy, Generation Progress

The post EVENT: TAP Restoration Is Women’s Equity Panel appeared first on Generation Progress.

Broad cancellation of student debt through executive action is good for the economy and should be implemented immediately as a tool for economic stimulus and recovery. Alongside catalyzing economic growth, student loan cancellation will also positively change the trajectory of borrowers" lives. However, student debt cancellation alone will not end the student debt crisis. Congress must also address the prohibitive cost of college to ensure that the cycle of debt does not continue.

Debt-free college legislation will prevent students from choosing between higher education and basic necessities. It will allow students the freedom and financial stability to contribute to the economy, purchase homes, start small businesses, have reproductive freedom, and more.

Check out our fact sheet on the need for federal action on free college legislation, and learn even more in these state-by-state America"s College Promise fact sheets, drafted in collaboration with the Center for Law and Social Policy, Jain Family Institute, National Consumer Law Center, and other members of Generation Progress"s Higher Ed Not Debt (HEND) campaign.

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Georgia
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia

You can also take action to tell Congress to pass free college legislation and cancel student debt!

The post America's College Promise State-by-State Fact Sheets appeared first on Generation Progress.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which has been riddled with issues since inception, is getting a makeover, according to the Department of Education. The program, which was created 14 years ago, was supposed to alleviate the burden of student debt for dedicated public service workers. The idea was simple: work in public service for ten years, while making student loan payments, and have your remaining student debt canceled. Unfortunately, too few borrowers received forgiveness, and too many do not receive credit for the years of payments they made due to complicated eligibility rules, servicing errors, or other technicalities. Newly announced changes to the program are predicted to provide relief and assistance to hundreds of thousands of borrowers.

Generation Progress is excited to have a Department of Education that is working to help borrowers, provide relief, and fix broken programs. Regulatory and administrative changes like this are a huge step in the right direction, but we still have a long way to go until we stop the student debt crisis. We still need President Biden to implement broad-based student debt cancellation for all borrowers. Until then, we"ll keep fighting for cancellation through executive action AND debt-free college legislation passed by Congress. 

On October 14, 2021, Generation Progress Executive Director Brent J. Cohen participated in the Student Debt Crisis Center"s Public Service Loan Forgiveness Town Hall to discuss updates to the program and answer borrowers" questions.

Still have questions about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program? Check out these resources from the Student Borrower Protection Center and answers to these frequently asked questions by the Department of Education.

Note: With all the news around PSLF and debt cancellation advocacy, there has been an uptick in student loan scams. Don’t give callers personal information and pay attention to whether you’re on a “dot gov” site or not. Protect yourself from scams with this information from the CFPB.

The post EVENT: Public Service Loan Forgiveness Updates Town Hall appeared first on Generation Progress.

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• Nationally, there are huge attainment gaps between racial groups and economic classes.
• Systemic racism and factors like generational poverty, redlining, racist banking policies, educational segregation, the racial wealth gap, and the school-to-prison pipeline mean that Black students are more likely to need to borrow, borrow more, take longer to pay off student loans, and face default.
• A low-income student is four times less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree than their wealthier peers.
• Students with disabilities earn bachelor’s degrees at less than half the rate of adults without disabilities. 

People with a college degree are more likely to have higher-paying and better quality jobs, better benefits at those jobs, and the ability to access resources that positively impact their health and community. A college degree can be a ticket out of the cycle of poverty and into middle-class jobs–but only if that degree is accessible in the first place. 

SOLUTION

Debt-free college legislation that accomplishes the following would truly transform higher education and go a long way towards making it accessible to everyone. These solutions must be made accessible to undocumented students, incarcerated students, and all who are traditionally excluded from most financial aid policy. 

• Double the maximum Pell grant: nearly 7 million low- and middle-income students rely on Pell grants to attend college. The current maximum Pell Grant covers less than one-third of the cost of attending a four-year college. Exclude for-profit institutions from eligibility. 
• Make community college and 4 years of college at public universities, MSIs, HBCUs, and Tribal Colleges free. 
• Create federal-state funding partnerships, which would help undo years of state disinvestment in public higher education, a factor contributing to the student debt crisis. 
• Cover the living expenses of students to prevent the need to take out loans and address the resource gaps that "tuition-only" legislation fails to consider. 
• Address racial inequities in college affordability by investing in HBCUs and MSIs and expanding financial aid eligibility to DREAMers. 
• Invest additional federal funds on evidence-based student success strategies to improve retention and completion rates.

Find additional resources in the Center for American Progress" "6 Actions Congress Should Take on Higher Education in 2021." The time for transformative college affordability legislation from Congress and broad-based debt cancellation from President Biden"s administration is now.

The post FACT SHEET: We Need to Make College Free appeared first on Generation Progress.

The heart of the debt crisis is the fact that higher education has become incredibly unaffordable and inaccessible due to decades of divestment from federal and state governments. Simultaneously, the cost of living and inflation continued to increase while wages stagnated.   

A quality higher education shouldn’t only be accessible to the rich; cost should never be a barrier to an educational path and future. Debt cancellation and making college free are two sides of the same coin–both are key to making higher education equitable across racial, gender, and economic groups. #FreeCollege is a social, economic, and racial justice issue. 

There are already several #FreeCollege proposals on the table. We have the momentum and a future without student debt is within our grasp.

If we take action, we can create change.

Amplify this on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post ACTION TOOLKIT: Debt-Free College for All appeared first on Generation Progress.

The PSLF program was designed to encourage college graduates to enter the public workforce by promising to forgive what was left of their student loan debt after they make qualifying payments for 10 years. Since the first cohorts of borrowers reached forgiveness eligibility in 2017, however, the failures of the PSLF program have been lamented by borrowers, advocates, lawmakers, and government officials alike. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education are overdue to make the improvements needed to deliver the debt forgiveness that was promised to thousands of American public sector workers.

In this letter, we identify PSLF"s chief problems and offer possible solutions. To do so, we draw on ideas from the Center for American Progress" past work on this subject, as well as from the work of other policy experts, Congressional bills, and comments from members of the public made during the Department"s recent hearings on negotiated rulemaking. If Congress and the Department work together to make these legislative, regulatory, and administrative improvements, borrowers will be better positioned to pay off their debt, continue serving the public, and reap the benefits of a college education.

The above excerpt was originally published in Regulations.gov. Please click here to view the full comment letter.

The post Comment on FR Doc # 2021-15831 appeared first on Generation Progress.

As a current college student, I am acutely aware of the many costs associated with getting an education. One of the first things most students and their families consider when weighing their college options is price, including how much they"re being offered in financial aid and scholarships. I live in a single parent household, and am incredibly lucky that my mother has taken on extra jobs and summer work (like the superwoman she is) just so that she could afford to send me to the schools of my choice. 

Over the past few years though, the intensification of extreme weather has been a source of further financial stress for me and my family. We have had to sacrifice some of the money that was meant for my tuition to repair damages to my home caused by thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes. At times, I have lost power, lost connection to my classes, have not been able to turn in my assignments on time, have been unable to contact my professors, lost my ability to take my online exams–the list goes on. This has been especially challenging during COVID-19 pandemic, when my classes have shifted online, and my education now depends on reliable electricity and a safe home environment.

Determining effective solutions to large-scale problems like the climate crisis or college affordability and student debt requires understanding how different issues connect and overlap with one another. The issues facing our country don"t exist in siloes, and being impacted by one problem can lead to additional struggles with other–even seemingly unrelated–problems. It is important for policymakers to take an intersectional approach when creating policy because, oftentimes, it isn"t possible to solve one issue without addressing the implications of another. 

Climate change and student debt are two issues that are often not seen as related, but looking at the ways that these issues disproportionately impact the same people and communities can provide insight into the types of solutions that are needed to solve both of them. In order to achieve environmental justice, policymakers must consider that the communities most impacted by the climate crisis are often the same communities that disproportionately struggle with student debt. 

For example, climate change and student debt both disproportionately impact communities of color. When severe weather events occur, air pollution increases, or water is polluted, communities of color, under-resourced communities, and marginalized people are impacted the most. These same communities also are burdened with higher levels of student loan debt and more difficulties repaying that debt than their white counterparts. Black students are more likely to need to borrow, borrow more, and take longer to pay off their loans than white students. On average, Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more than their white peers. Four years after graduation, Black college graduates on average accumulate interest such that their balance owed increases by 12.5 percent, whereas white college graduates are likely to have already paid off some debt and have reduced their total balance owed during that same period of time. 

The increase of extreme weather events, such as dangerous heatwaves, freezing temperatures, flooding, and destructive storms, can all be directly linked to human-induced climate change–which means this problem is only getting worse. The average temperature in the United States has been continuously rising since 1901, with the last 30 years showing an increased rate of warming. Eight of the hottest years on record occurred within the last decade. 

The student debt crisis is likewise escalating. One in three young people have taken out loans to afford college, and students and their families collectively hold $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. These individuals and their families are attempting to do what is ultimately impossible for many, financing higher education while staying financially afloat through worsening floods, fires, and droughts. 

In order to end the cycle of climate change and the student debt crisis compounding to cause financial instability for generations of Americans, we need to demand that Congress pass economic recovery legislation with bold climate investments that prioritize the most impacted communities, cancels student debt, and makes college more affordable for students and their families. 

The same communities that have been deprived of the resources and infrastructure necessary to withstand the worst impacts of the climate crisis as a result of systemic racism are often also struggling to afford college for the same reason. President Biden"s Build Back Better agenda would give the country a better chance to build an economy that works for all, while investing in clean energy and infrastructure that protects our communities from pollution and worsening climate change. In addition to the Build Back Better agenda, the administration recently established the Justice 40 initiative, which ensures that 40 percent of all the federal government’s climate investments will go to disadvantaged and over-polluted communities. This initiative codifies environmental justice as a part of each federal agency"s mission.

To make good on President Biden"s commitments in the Build Back Better agenda and the Justice 40 initiative, Congress must fund federal programs that help disadvantaged families with the economic burdens of climate change-induced extreme weather. For example, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides money to families who need assistance with their energy bills, which can spike during periods of extreme heat or cold; and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) helps medium- and low-income households lower their energy bills by subsidizing energy efficiency technology for their homes. These programs can help people on the frontlines of climate change save money for other important life priorities, like education.

Multiple bills have been introduced in Congress with the aim of reducing or eliminating the cost of tuition and fees at public universities and community colleges, including the Debt-Free College Act, America"s College Promise, and the College for All Act. In addition, President Biden is still exploring his options for canceling some amount of student debt, a promise made during his campaign. 

Racial and economic injustice take many different forms in this country, and racist and unjust policies have resulted in people of color existing on the frontlines of both the climate and student debt crises. It is imperative that the government makes significant investments now to secure environmental and economic justice for all. Our futures, and our families" futures are at stake.

The post Canceling Student Debt Would Help Achieve Environmental Justice appeared first on Generation Progress.

It"s crucial the Department intentionally seeks out, includes, and centers the voices of the borrowers who are struggling the most to make ends meet, most disproportionately harmed by the student debt crisis, and systemically and historically have received the fewest resources. These borrowers are most likely to be Black borrowers, in addition to borrowers with children, Pell Grant recipients, and veterans. 

To underscore the need for strengthened oversight and regulation of for-profit colleges, improved borrower defense measures, repayment for cheated students, and gainful employment, here are the stories of two borrowers who have been preyed upon by for-profit institutions. The experiences of these two borrowers are shared by many others. 

Joe is a first-generation student and veteran who graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Joe has owed $48,000 in student loans since 2004, and has defaulted on their loans and cannot afford payments. The predatory behavior by the Art Institute has had a monumental impact on Joe and changed the course of their life. They say, "Without student debt, I could buy a used car before my existing 15 year old car dies. Or I could buy a modest home. Or avoid suicidal thoughts and actions." Joe pursued higher education in the first place to transition from military service to civilian service. Instead, Joe says "I fell prey to predatory bad actors who set me up on a $100 per month payment plan to avoid student loans THEN they applied for and received over $40,000 in student financing using my identity without my knowledge or consent. I didn’t discover it until 2015. The Art Institutes are committing FRAUD." 

Another borrower, Oluwafemi Akinkugbe graduated from the University of Phoenix and has owed $137,000 in student loans since 2006. Oluwafemi pursued higher education to be able to earn more, but it"s been nearly 15 years since they graduated and because they were targeted by a low-quality, predatory program, they earned a useless degree. Their career prospects and income have not improved. Now, saddled with six figures of debt, Oluwafemi says "My entire life has been impacted by student debt. For example, I live from paycheck to paycheck having nothing to put away for retirement." 

Like Joe, there are currently millions of borrowers whose loans are in default, and if the President doesn"t extend the payment pause there will be millions more entering default in the fall and winter. These borrowers are being penalized for being unable to afford payments, while still surviving the COVID pandemic and its ensuing economic fallout. It is imperative that the Department take immediate action to drastically change this system. Borrowers should not be forced to choose between rent, utilities, medicine, or student loan payments, and should not be facing wage garnishment or other punitive measures when they ultimately need to pay for a basic necessity. Any system that intentionally punishes and fines people unable to afford their bills perpetuates America"s longstanding horrifying practice of criminalizing poverty. The practices of wage garnishment, social security garnishment, damaging credit scores, tax garnishment, collection fees, and prohibiting borrowers from receiving federal financial aid until they resolve the default (which effectively prevents students from re-enrolling in school) must be abolished. 

Instead of the current punitive system that seizes money from the borrowers who are already struggling to make ends meet, the Department should prioritize instead implementing a humane system that actually helps borrowers get into good financial standing. This means ending wage garnishment, social security garnishment, tax garnishment, ending all collection charges, and creating a statute of limitations on collections. The goal of the Department should be to protect borrowers by ending default altogether, which would advance equity since default disproportionately impacts Black borrowers. 

Some default could even easily be prevented by simplifying the endlessly confusing design of the many programs and applications, and improving oversight of administrators and servicers. For example, borrowers looking to have their loans forgiven for work in public service must meet four eligibility thresholds, and those who seek reduced monthly payments must weigh five different income-based repayment plans. Borrowers so often report being misled or receiving conflicting information about their loans or payments from their servicers or scam repayment programs. Even worse, thousands of borrowers have shared with us their experience of paying into certain programs for years before finding out that they"ve made some error, and none of their years of on-time payments count towards relief. 

The Department must center the experiences and needs of borrowers in determining their priorities, in every policy they design, and every issue they aim to address. An augmented and alarming default crisis can be prevented through the combination of extending the payment pause and cancelling as much debt as possible. We urge you to take these preventative measures first and foremost to protect borrowers. Student loan borrowers are most capable of communicating their own needs, and their voices must be centered in any efforts to address America"s student debt crisis. We leave you with these stories from borrowers whose only way out from crushing debt is cancellation. 

Traci from Tennessee says, "I borrowed $40,000 and now owe almost $50,000. I had a child with special needs and many medical issues so I spent many years taking care of him. Was never able to get back into my intended career as I spent too many years not working. Now I am struggling to make payments on a loan for an education I was never able to fully take advantage of. I cannot save for retirement until this burden is lifted." 

Pia, a Black borrower from Minnesota, shared: "I spent the last 29 years working as a public school teacher, but because of my student loans, I was unable to send my own kids to college. Cancelling student debt would allow me to retire without a huge burden." 

Milagros from Massachusetts said "Student loan debt has prevented me from purchasing a home, finding a good job, and affording healthcare. It doesn’t have to be this way. If we made college free and canceled student debt, the entire country would benefit from a stronger economy, equitable access to the American Dream and fewer barriers to racial equity."

Lauren, a transgender, first-generation student loan borrower from New Jersey says: "I worry how I will be afford to provide for my children. I want to stay home with my young kids but my loan payment of $1,000 a month prevents that. Without that payment I could stay home until my kids went to school."

Rachel from Minnesota is a Native American, first-generation borrower from a low-income household based on a reservation, pursued higher ed to "Break the family cycle of poverty and do better for myself, future kids and family someday, than what I grew up with." and they support free college and debt cancellation because "It doesn"t just help me, it would help our country and our economy, and relieve the burden that other people my age feel when having to make the decision between important or essential things in life and paying back a loan that has accrued so much interest that it"s now the size of a mortgage payment."

Kathryn from Pennsylvania, a first-generation student, pursued higher education to "Better myself and one day make a home where I could raise children who, unlike me, would not have to worry about going to bed hungry." But "making [loan] payments made it difficult to pay for food, which caused me to turn to credit cards that ultimately landed me in even more debt that I struggle to pay."

Sarah Funes, a disabled borrower who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, owes over $16,500 in student loans. She earns $25,000 a year working two jobs to make ends meet; she got the second job in order to pay off her student loans faster. She says "The Total and Permanent Disability program is terrible with my blindness. Under the program I could only make [a maximum of] $17,000 [per year]. You can"t live off of $17,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area. I intend to pay off my loans but the process shouldn"t be so difficult. I did everything right. I survived a brain tumor. I worked in my family"s business. I went to college, graduated with three degrees and got a job. These loans are holding me back. I wish I could put that money towards investments so that one day I could own a house and leave something to my future children. I"ve been trying to do the right thing and I wasn"t given a clear or fair roadmap to do it."

The post Comment on the Education Department's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Docket ID ED-2021-OPE-0077) appeared first on Generation Progress.

We"re out here delivering almost 13,000 of your stories to the Department of Education as part of the #CancelStudentDebt Voices project! It"s time for Pres. Biden to cancel student debt and Congress to pass #FreeCollege.

Thanks to Sen. Schumer, Sen. Warren, and Alyssa Milano for leading the livestream!

And thank YOU for sharing your #CancelStudentDebt and #FreeCollege stories with us. You all made this moment possible!

It’s not too late to share your student debt story with us.

See the stories project and more here.

The post EVENT: #CancelStudentDebt Voices With Special Guests Senator Chuck Schumer and Alyssa Milano appeared first on Generation Progress.