Marginalized Populations

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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News Clips

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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Blogs

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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Reports

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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Blogs

Oct 14, 2020

New Data Show Dramatic Disparities for Borrowers of Color with Private Student Loans

New data from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances show that distress continues to mount in the private student loan market—especially for borrowers of color.

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Press Releases

Aug 14, 2020

Civil Rights and Advocacy Groups Call on California Lawmakers to Pass the Student Borrower Bill of Rights

23 state and national civil rights and advocacy organizations sent letters to California Senate leadership, urging them to pass the Student Borrower Bill of Rights.

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Blogs

Aug 7, 2020

How Private Student Loans are Furthering Racial Disparities in the Student Loan Market

Despite industry assurances that the private student loan market is free from borrower distress, a closer examination of outcomes suggests that certain subsets of borrowers disproportionately struggle with private student debt—namely, Black and Latinx borrowers.

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Blogs

Jul 31, 2020

Fintech Lenders’ Responses to Senate Probe Heighten Fears of Educational Redlining

The SBPC found that the company’s use of this data resulted in ‘educational redlining,’ penalizing borrowers who attended minority-serving institutions. Upstart’s practices highlight key problems related to the use of educational criteria in underwriting, federal fair lending laws, and equal credit access.

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Press Releases

Jul 30, 2020

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Student Borrower Protection Center Send Letter to Financial Technology Firm over Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act Violations

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) and the SBPC sent a demand letter to financial technology firm Upstart explaining how the firm’s algorithm likely violates the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Fair Housing Act.

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Blogs

Jul 28, 2020

Innovation or Discrimination? Fair Lending Risks and ISAs

Although the U.S. is desperately in need of solutions for the student debt crisis—and the accompanying racial and ethnic disparities—features of existing Income Share Agreements threaten to exacerbate these inequalities.

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

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

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

Race: Examining Legal Remedies for Disparate Student Debt Outcomes

New Data Show Dramatic Disparities for Borrowers of Color with Private Student Loans

Civil Rights and Advocacy Groups Call on California Lawmakers to Pass the Student Borrower Bill of Rights

How Private Student Loans are Furthering Racial Disparities in the Student Loan Market

Fintech Lenders’ Responses to Senate Probe Heighten Fears of Educational Redlining

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund and Student Borrower Protection Center Send Letter to Financial Technology Firm over Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act Violations

Innovation or Discrimination? Fair Lending Risks and ISAs

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