Social Security

Nov 24, 2020

Delivering on Debt Relief: Cancelling Student Debt on Day One and Beyond

Student Borrower Protection Center and Dēmos virtual conference on student debt cancellation.

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Press Releases

Nov 23, 2020

Advocates Release Roadmap for the Biden Administration to Fix Broken Programs for Servicemembers, Teachers, Defrauded Students, & Other Vulnerable Borrowers Denied Promised Student Debt Relief

The SBPC and Dēmos released a new report featuring contributions from leading student loan experts and advocates outlining how the Biden administration can take immediate action to cancel student debt for millions of Americans.

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Nov 23, 2020

Delivering on Debt Relief: Proposals, Ideas, and Actions to Cancel Student Debt on Day One and Beyond

The SBPC and Dēmos joined together to produce a report featuring contributions from leading student loan experts and advocates offering a roadmap for the Biden administration to take immediate action to cancel student debt for millions of Americans.

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Nov 18, 2020

UC Irvine Law Review Publishes Foundational Research to Address the Student Debt Crisis

SLLI is proud to join the UC Irvine Law Review in announcing the publication of the journal’s latest edition dedicated exclusively to exploring the intersection of student debt, consumer protection, and the law.

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Nov 18, 2020

UC Irvine Law Review Student Loan Edition

The UC Irvine Law Review issued a new special edition of its journal dedicated exclusively to exploring the intersection of student debt, consumer protection, and the law.

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Nov 13, 2020

The ‘Broken’ Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness System is Particularly Brutal for Military Veterans

A new investigation by the Student Borrower Protection Center found that members of the military are facing several obstacles when it comes to getting student loan forgiveness.

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Nov 11, 2020

Protecting Military Borrowers

This report examines the roadblocks that members of the military face in accessing Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

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Nov 11, 2020

Why Are So Many of Our Military Members Missing Out on Student Loan Forgiveness?

Military borrowers face obstacles in trying to satisfy each of the requirements of the PSLF program, including having the right type of loan, the right type of employment, the right repayment plan, and the right number of payments.

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Nov 11, 2020

A Sobering Figure for Veteran’s Day: 200,000 Service Members Owe Nearly $3 Billion in Student Loans

Roughly 200,000 service members owe nearly $3 billion in student loans and yet, just 17,534 have officially begun the process of having their loans discharged under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

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Nov 2, 2020

New Data Show Borrowers of Color and Low-Income Borrowers are Missing Out on Key Protections, Raising Significant Fair Lending Concerns

Our latest analysis finds racial and socioeconomic disparities in which borrowers are able to access one of the most critical protections available to all borrowers struggling with federal student loans: income-driven repayment.

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Oct 26, 2020

Student Debt: Bad for your Wallet, Bad for your Health

A growing body of evidence is suggesting that student debt could be detrimental not only to borrowers’ financial health, but also to their physical wellbeing.

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Oct 22, 2020

Race: Examining Legal Remedies for Disparate Student Debt Outcomes

This paper, written for the Consumer Finance Law Quarterly Report by SBPC Civil Rights Counsel Katherine Welbeck, examines the racial disparities that exist in the student loan market, explores the role of student loan servicing in varied borrower outcomes, and lays out the range of legal remedies available to hold companies accountable.

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Oct 22, 2020

Milestones in the Fight to Protect California Borrowers

Last month, California lawmakers took decisive action to protect borrowers by passing a Student Loan Borrower Bill of Rights. For the nearly four million student loan borrowers in the state, the new protections and rights provided by AB 376 are desperately needed.

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Oct 22, 2020

Cunningham, Gopal Bill to Regulate Private Student Loan Lenders Advances

The bill would set new standards for the servicing of cosigned private student loans. It would require more robust disclosures, ensure cosigner release is accessible to all borrowers and require cosigners to have access to all documents related to the loan, among other things. New Jersey currently has more than 130,000 older borrowers, who are most often co-signers helping their children or other relatives attend school.

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Oct 22, 2020

Student loan watchdog accuses lender Climb Credit of ‘troubling tactics’

The report by D.C.-based Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) found that the New York-based fintech company’s practices “may place it in violation” of the Consumer Financial Protection Act and other consumer protection laws, according to details shared exclusively with Yahoo Finance.

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Letters & Memos

Oct 21, 2020

Advocates Warn Specialty Student Lender Climb Credit May be Deceiving Borrowers and Engaging in Pervasive Consumer Protection Violations

The SBPC sent a letter to the CFPB warning of troubling business practices and possible borrower harm by Climb Credit, a specialty lender that provides financing for education and vocational training courses.

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Oct 21, 2020

The CFPB Must Investigate Climb Credit and Protect Borrowers Across the Dangerous, High-Cost Shadow Student Debt Market

SBPC has uncovered additional evidence of troubling practices and possible borrower harm by Climb Credit, a specialty lender that offers loans students can use to finance attendance at job training programs ranging from coding bootcamps to teacher training courses.

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Testimony & Remarks

Oct 19, 2020

Testimony of Katherine Welbeck Before the Boston City Council

Testimony on the importance of cities taking action to understand how student debt is affecting communities of color and the value of gathering this information to support borrowers.

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