The Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS) calls President Joe Biden’s announcement August 24, 2022 on new steps to address student loan debt as a good step toward improving the employee pipeline issue in education. President Biden announced the administration would:
- Provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation to Pell Grant recipients and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. Borrowers who earn less than $125,000 per year or households earning less than $250,000 are eligible for a one-time debt cancellation.
- Extend the federal student loan pause a final time through December 31, 2022 to provide borrowers a smooth transition back to repayment.
- Make the student loan system more manageable for current and future borrowers by cutting monthly payments in half for undergraduate loans and holding schools accountable when they hike up prices.
President Biden also announced the Department of Education will make the student loan system more manageable for current and future borrowers by fixing the broken Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). Specifically, the department will propose a rule that borrowers who have worked at a nonprofit, in the military, or in federal, state, tribal, or local government, receive appropriate credit toward loan forgiveness.
ALAS Executive Director Maria Armstrong issued the following statement in response to Biden’s announcement:
“ALAS, along with other nonprofit coalitions, has been working for the past two years on this issue of expanding the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program of yesteryear. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program includes and recognizes the dedication of administrators and superintendents who moved from classroom to boardroom in service of leadership to their communities. The President’s actions are also a great first step in addressing the pipeline issue in education. To better promote the representation needed in communities across the nation, student loan debt is in need of not just an overhaul, but a transformation in structure and accessibility. For too long, our educators of color have paid on student loans with no end in sight and in disproportionate amounts. Although any cancellation of student debt is much appreciated, we will continue to strive for bold actions in the future to recruit and retain those needed to teach and lead our nation’s children of today and stewards of tomorrow.”
ALAS is hosting a free webinar from 6 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. EST on Monday, August 29th to provide information about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and how to apply. To register, visit https://bit.ly/ALAS-PSLF.
For more information about ALAS visit https://www.alasedu.org/.
