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Blogs

Sep 3, 2021

Tell the Department of Education to Fix Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Deliver on the Promise of Debt Relief for the Legal Services Community

Legal aid programs are often the first stop for Americans facing a survival crisis, but as legal aid employees have struggled with their own student loan debt, ED has failed to show up for them. ED must restore the promise of PSLF.

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News Clips

Sep 2, 2021

Student-Loan Borrowers are Still Having Their Wages Seized, and are Owed $37 Million in Garnished Wages

That’s one conclusion from Department of Education data published Thursday by the Student Borrower Protection Center. The data, released to the nonprofit advocacy group through a Freedom of Information Act request, also indicate that borrowers are owed more than $37 million in wages seized between March 2020 and June 2021 that the Department had instructed student-loan organizations to refund.

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Letters & Memos

Sep 2, 2021

Advocates Highlight Evidence that Guaranty Agencies Harmed Borrowers and Violated Department of Education Orders During COVID

SBPC sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to highlight new evidence of illegal conduct by Guaranty Agencies and to call on CFPB to protect borrowers.

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Blogs

Sep 2, 2021

New Evidence Reveals Guaranty Agencies Violated ED Orders to Stop Preying on Student Loan Borrowers During COVID

New evidence uncovered through a FOIA request indicates that Guaranty Agencies did not comply with Department of Education guidance directing them to stop garnishing wages from defaulted borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Blogs

Aug 30, 2021

Frontline Workers Who Fought Through the Pandemic Are Being Denied Promised Student Debt Forgiveness

These workers have been under enormous strain. Unfortunately, student debt adds to that burden. But after rising to the moment, these brave men and women are faced with broken promises and denied student debt relief because of the failures of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

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News Clips

Aug 30, 2021

Insider Q&A: What’s Next for Student Loans in the COVID Era

Frotman spoke to The Associated Press about the Biden administration’s decision to extend the student loan repayment moratorium and other issues facing the $1.5 trillion industry.

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News Clips

Aug 26, 2021

Report Shows For-Profit Colleges Target Minority Communities That Typically Owe More Student Debt

The SBPC, which advocates for borrowers’ rights, released a report in July showing for-profit colleges disproportionately established themselves in minority communities and engaged in predatory practices leaving students in significant debt.

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Reports

Aug 24, 2021

Co-Opting California Courts: How Private Creditors Have Turned the Judiciary Into a Predatory Student Debt Collection Machine

In a report, SBPC fellow Claire Johnson Raba, a SBPC fellow shows the effect of predatory private student loan collection practices on borrowers in California. With creditors dragging borrowers into court for debts they often do not owe and lacking the documents necessary to back up their claims, the report lays out the harmful long-term impacts to borrowers’ credit and finances.

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Blogs

Aug 24, 2021

Shocking New Data Show Why California Lawmakers Must Protect Borrowers and Rein in Abusive Student Loan Debt Collectors

The SBPC released a new report exposing the punishing consequences for private student loan borrowers in California who fall behind on their debts. This study, authored by Claire Johnson Raba, an SBPC fellow and a clinical teaching fellow at the University of California Irvine School of Law’s Consumer Law Clinic, shows why California’s AB 424 is urgently needed.

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News Clips

Aug 24, 2021

For-Profit Schools Target Minority Communities That Typically Owe More Student Debt, Report Says

Over the past decade, a number of for-profit schools have shut down over accusations of misleading students and leading them to take on more debt than they can pay off. A recent report found those schools target minority communities that were already disproportionately burdened by student debt.

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Letters & Memos

Aug 19, 2021

Legal Analysis, and Need for Increased Enforcement, of the Student Loan Sunshine Act

In a memorandum, Sabita Soneji and Leora Friedman of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP outline the legal tools available to hold bad actors accountable for an ongoing scheme to drive students toward predatory private credit.

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Blogs

Aug 19, 2021

ED, the CFPB, and Borrowers Can All Hold School and Creditors Accountable for Predatory Lending Schemes

Our new legal memo provides a roadmap to ensure that companies are held accountable for unlawful practices.

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Comments

Aug 16, 2021

Advocates Public Comment on Virginia Student Borrower Bill of Rights Implementation

In a public comment to the Virginia State Corporation Commission, SBPC and 12 organizations representing consumers, students, student loan borrowers, and teachers draw attention to industry attempts to circumvent the legislative process, and call on the regulator to faithfully implement the Commonwealth’s new consumer protections.

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Press Releases

Aug 9, 2021

SBPC Applauds Biden Administration for Reversing Trump-era Scheme to Deny Justice to Borrowers Cheated by Student Loan Companies

Today, the U.S. Department of Education rolled back a Trump Administration directive issued by former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that attempted to block state governments and individual student loan borrowers from seeking justice when student loan companies break the law.

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Press Releases

Aug 6, 2021

SBPC Statement on the Extension of the Student Loan Payment Pause

Before the pandemic, our nation was in the midst of a $1.7 trillion student debt crisis with more than 1-in-4 borrowers already struggling. The Biden Administration has five short months to repair this badly broken system.

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Press Releases

Aug 6, 2021

SBPC Statement on California DFPI Consent Order with Income Share Agreements Servicer Meratas

Today, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced a landmark consent order with New York-based Meratas, Inc., a company that partners with educational institutions to offer students Income Share Agreements or ISAs to finance post-secondary education and training.

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Blogs

Aug 6, 2021

A Quirk of the Calendar is About to Lead Borrowers to Pay Billions More on their Federal Student Loans. The Department of Education Can Prevent This.

A legal quirk is slated to lead millions of students taking on federal student loans over the next year to face billions of dollars of unnecessary added charges throughout repayment.

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News Clips

Aug 5, 2021

California Announces Deal to Treat Fintech’s ISAs as Student Loans

State authorities in California struck a deal with a fintech firm to treat a controversial finance product known as income-share agreements as student loans, requiring compliance with the state’s student borrower protection laws.

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Blogs

Aug 4, 2021

Student Debt In Disguise: How Employers are Using Predatory Debt to Hurt Workers and Hold Back Competition

New evidence indicates that employers nationwide are increasingly leveraging shadow student debt to trap workers into unfair contracts and substandard working conditions. In particular, a growing number of industries and employers are using bait-and-switch tactics to force workers to take on loans and debt through nefarious “training repayment agreements.”

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News Clips

Aug 2, 2021

Report: For-Profit Institutions Target Communities of Color

Despite pushes to address predatory practices—such as the withholding of Title IV federal financial aid—for-profit institutions are continuing to target communities of color through recruitment and location strategies, according to a new Student Borrower Protection Center report.

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Social Security

Tell the Department of Education to Fix Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Deliver on the Promise of Debt Relief for the Legal Services Community

Student-Loan Borrowers are Still Having Their Wages Seized, and are Owed $37 Million in Garnished Wages

Advocates Highlight Evidence that Guaranty Agencies Harmed Borrowers and Violated Department of Education Orders During COVID

New Evidence Reveals Guaranty Agencies Violated ED Orders to Stop Preying on Student Loan Borrowers During COVID

Frontline Workers Who Fought Through the Pandemic Are Being Denied Promised Student Debt Forgiveness

Insider Q&A: What’s Next for Student Loans in the COVID Era

Report Shows For-Profit Colleges Target Minority Communities That Typically Owe More Student Debt

Co-Opting California Courts: How Private Creditors Have Turned the Judiciary Into a Predatory Student Debt Collection Machine

Shocking New Data Show Why California Lawmakers Must Protect Borrowers and Rein in Abusive Student Loan Debt Collectors

For-Profit Schools Target Minority Communities That Typically Owe More Student Debt, Report Says

Legal Analysis, and Need for Increased Enforcement, of the Student Loan Sunshine Act

ED, the CFPB, and Borrowers Can All Hold School and Creditors Accountable for Predatory Lending Schemes

Advocates Public Comment on Virginia Student Borrower Bill of Rights Implementation

SBPC Applauds Biden Administration for Reversing Trump-era Scheme to Deny Justice to Borrowers Cheated by Student Loan Companies

SBPC Statement on the Extension of the Student Loan Payment Pause

SBPC Statement on California DFPI Consent Order with Income Share Agreements Servicer Meratas

A Quirk of the Calendar is About to Lead Borrowers to Pay Billions More on their Federal Student Loans. The Department of Education Can Prevent This.

California Announces Deal to Treat Fintech’s ISAs as Student Loans

Student Debt In Disguise: How Employers are Using Predatory Debt to Hurt Workers and Hold Back Competition

Report: For-Profit Institutions Target Communities of Color

EXPLORE MORE