Washington State AG calls for Student Loan Bill of Rights to protect 800,000 borrowers

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The number of student loan borrowers in Washington is over 800,000, and the state needs a Student Loan Bill of Rights to license, regulate and ensure that student loan services play by the rules, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Friday.

The AG, in a report on student loans, said the number of borrowers is up more than 35 percent from a decade ago, when the Great Recession hit students at the state's public colleges with steep tuition increases.

Borrowers comprise more than 10 percent of the state's population. The collective debt for student loans in the state reached $24.4 billion by the end of 2016. Interestingly, $2.1 billion of that debt is held by borrowers over 60.

"Pursuing an education should not force students to take on insurmoutable debt," said Ferguson. "We must do more to protect Washingtonians who feel like higher education equals a debt sentence."

Ferguson wants to take the state in a direction opposite from that of the Trump administration. U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has moved to ease regulations on private, for-profit colleges instituted under President Obama.

The AG's report found that loan burdens fall heaviest on women and low-income Americans. Students from poor families are more likely to need student loans. Black graduates tend to have over $7,000 more debt upon graduation than white classmates.

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http://www.seattlepi.com/local/politics/article/Connelly-AG-calls-for-Student-Loan-Bill-of-12462491.php?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailynewsletterspi&utm_term=spi

[AmericanActivist]

1. K n R for students nm