Social Security

Mar 26, 2020

Statement from SBPC Executive Director and Former Top Student Loan Regulator Seth Frotman on the CARES Act

Today Student Borrower Protection Center Executive Director and former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman issued the following statement on how the CARES Act fails to deliver critical relief for student loan borrowers.

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Blogs

Mar 24, 2020

Student Loan Law Initiative Hosts First Student Loan Law Review Symposium

On February 21, 2020, legal scholars and advocates from around the country gathered at the campus of UCI School of Law for the first ever law review symposium dedicated exclusively to the question of student loan law.

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Blogs

Mar 23, 2020

Why Borrowers Matter, State by State

Today we are releasing a snapshot of state-by-state statistics on student loan debt. This data should be front and center as policymakers consider actions to protect Americans from the economic effects of the global coronavirus pandemic.

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Blogs

Mar 23, 2020

When the Student Loan System Fails, Payment Relief Becomes Just Another Empty Promise

Student loan companies were woefully unprepared to help borrowers grapple with the coronavirus long before tens of millions of borrowers were told they would need to contact their student loan servicer to secure payment relief. As borrowers in distress seek help over the coming days and weeks, the student loan system, including the large private-sector financial services firms at its center, is clearly not up to the task.

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Blogs

Mar 20, 2020

Plans to “Pause” Student Loan Payments Solve a Political Problem, But Leave Student Loan Borrowers Worse for the Wear

As America is gripped by a once-in-a-century public health crisis and hurtles toward a long and deep recession, policymakers in the Trump Administration and on Capitol Hill are looking for policy levers to blunt the effects of this turmoil. Helping student loan borrowers in distress needs to be a key part of any effort to protect the economy as a whole from the worst consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Letters & Memos

Mar 19, 2020

SBPC and AFT Demand Government and Industry Leaders Take Action to Protect Borrowers During Coronavirus Pandemic

In letters sent to ED Secretary Betsy DeVos, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, and student loan industry CEOs, SBPC and the AFT demand action to protect student loan borrowers during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Blogs

Mar 19, 2020

TOMORROW: SBPC to Host Free Webinar on Student Loan Repayment Options During COVID-19

The Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) are co-hosting a free webinar focusing on student loan repayment during the coronavirus pandemic.

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Press Releases

Mar 19, 2020

SBPC and American Federation of Teachers Urge Government and Industry Action to Protect Student Loan Borrowers in the Face of Coronavirus Pandemic

As Americans face the economic fallout from the coronavirus, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) today sent letters to government and industry leaders across the student loan system demanding action to protect student loan borrowers during this nationwide crisis. The organizations sent letters to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger, and nine large student loan companies that service loans owed by…

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Press Releases

Mar 18, 2020

Statement from Seth Frotman, SBPC Executive Director and Former Top Student Loan Regulator on Emergency Stimulus Proposal

Student Borrower Protection Center Executive Director and former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman released the following statement on Washington’s plan to send checks directly to American families as part of a $1 trillion stimulus package in response to the coronavirus crisis.

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Blogs

Mar 13, 2020

New Data Show Student Loan Defaults Spiked in 2019 – A Warning to Industry and DeVos Amid Economic Fallout

The Department of Education’s (ED) most recent quarterly update on its student loan portfolio contained a crucial number that seems to have gone widely overlooked: 1,228,600. That figure represents the cumulative total of unique federal student loan borrowers who defaulted on their loans (that is, reached a full 361 days of delinquency) during the 2019 federal fiscal year.

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Blogs

Mar 6, 2020

Are Millions of Student Loan Borrowers About to Pay for Banks’ LIBOR Fraud?

The Student Borrower Protection Center, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, and the National Consumer Law Center today raised concerns to the ARRC with various aspects of industry’s transition from LIBOR to spread-adjusted SOFR.

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Reports

Mar 4, 2020

Private Student Loan Collections Issue Brief: Maryland Spotlight

In an issue brief, the SBPC shows how private student loan collection practices are harming borrowers across the country — with a spotlight on Maryland borrowers.

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Blogs

Mar 4, 2020

Maryland Stands Up to Predatory Student Loan Lawsuit Machine Targeting Borrowers of Color

This morning, we released new analysis showing how these private student loan collection practices are harming borrowers across the country—and hitting borrowers in Maryland particularly hard. Creditors are dragging Maryland borrowers into court for debt they often do not owe. Lacking the documents necessary to back up their claims, these companies are manipulating courts into garnishing borrowers’ wages for illegitimate debt.

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Feb 25, 2020

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FOIA Production US Departme… by Student Borrower Protection… on Scribd

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FOIAs

Feb 25, 2020

FOIA Production US Department of Education On PSLF Pt. 4

View our FOIA-obtained document.

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Blogs

Feb 14, 2020

One More Way States Can Step Up as Betsy DeVos Rolls Back Legal Protections

For-profit schools have a long track record of engaging in fraudulent and deceptive tactics to entice vulnerable students to enroll—often charging significantly more than their nonprofit counterparts. Once enrolled, many of these students are pressured into taking out high-cost loans for what are often worthless degrees.

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Blogs

Feb 13, 2020

New Funding Opportunity: Join Us in Helping to End the Student Debt Crisis

To help move the needle, today, the Student Loan Law Initiative, a partnership of the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and the University of California, Irvine School of Law (UCI Law), is launching a new grants program to support researchers who want to begin tackling these questions.

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News Clips

Feb 13, 2020

Ruiz Introduces Legislation to Curb Forced Arbitration in Educational Enrollment Contracts

Senator M. Teresa Ruiz introduced legislation today to withhold state funding from institutions of higher education and employment training with mandatory arbitration agreements or class-action lawsuit waivers.

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Press Releases

Feb 12, 2020

Statement from Seth Frotman, SBPC Executive Director and former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman on Bodor v. Maximus

Student Borrower Protection Center Executive Director and former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman Seth Frotman released the following statement on the lawsuit announced today by the National Consumer Law Center and Justice Catalyst Law against Maximus, Inc.

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Blogs

Feb 12, 2020

A New Debt Collection Lawsuit Gives us a Glimpse at the Future of Student Loan Servicing for Tens of Millions of Borrowers

In her complaint, filed by our partners at the National Consumer Law Center and Justice Catalyst Law, she alleges that the company ignored its duty to stop collecting against her—a right she is guaranteed under rules that protect borrowers defrauded by for-profit colleges. In the process, her student loan company violated a federal consumer protection law, known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

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Statement from SBPC Executive Director and Former Top Student Loan Regulator Seth Frotman on the CARES Act

Student Loan Law Initiative Hosts First Student Loan Law Review Symposium

Why Borrowers Matter, State by State

When the Student Loan System Fails, Payment Relief Becomes Just Another Empty Promise

Plans to “Pause” Student Loan Payments Solve a Political Problem, But Leave Student Loan Borrowers Worse for the Wear

SBPC and AFT Demand Government and Industry Leaders Take Action to Protect Borrowers During Coronavirus Pandemic

TOMORROW: SBPC to Host Free Webinar on Student Loan Repayment Options During COVID-19

SBPC and American Federation of Teachers Urge Government and Industry Action to Protect Student Loan Borrowers in the Face of Coronavirus Pandemic

Statement from Seth Frotman, SBPC Executive Director and Former Top Student Loan Regulator on Emergency Stimulus Proposal

New Data Show Student Loan Defaults Spiked in 2019 – A Warning to Industry and DeVos Amid Economic Fallout

Are Millions of Student Loan Borrowers About to Pay for Banks’ LIBOR Fraud?

Private Student Loan Collections Issue Brief: Maryland Spotlight

Maryland Stands Up to Predatory Student Loan Lawsuit Machine Targeting Borrowers of Color

Doc

FOIA Production US Department of Education On PSLF Pt. 4

One More Way States Can Step Up as Betsy DeVos Rolls Back Legal Protections

New Funding Opportunity: Join Us in Helping to End the Student Debt Crisis

Ruiz Introduces Legislation to Curb Forced Arbitration in Educational Enrollment Contracts

Statement from Seth Frotman, SBPC Executive Director and former CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman on Bodor v. Maximus

A New Debt Collection Lawsuit Gives us a Glimpse at the Future of Student Loan Servicing for Tens of Millions of Borrowers

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