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NCSL Updates
Reminder: NCSL Policy Submission Deadline
All new policy directives and resolutions, and amendments to existing policy directives, for consideration at the 2023 Legislative Summit must be submitted to the director of NCSL’s Washington, D.C., office by 5 p.m. July 14, 30 days prior to the annual Business Meeting, Aug. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Read more.
NCSL Briefing on Federal Student Loan Program
With the student loan repayment pause expiring at the end of August, the U.S. Department of Education is rolling out a series of new policies to help borrowers successfully reenter repayment. Austin Reid, NCSL’s director of federal education policy, will explain recent federal actions and detail their implications for state policymakers and student loan borrowers. Register
CHIPS Webinar Highlights How States Can Help Revitalize Local Semiconductor Industry
NCSL hosted a recent briefing for state legislators and staff during which Department of Commerce officials described the CHIPS programs and answered questions about how states and territories can participate. President Biden signed the bipartisan Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) Act to tackle some of the biggest manufacturing and innovation challenges of our time. The act provides $50 billion through the Commerce Department’s CHIPS for America Fund to revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry, protect American national and economic security, preserve U.S. leadership in the industries of the future, create good-paying jobs and build strong communities here in the United States, the administration says. Watch the webinar here.
Administration Updates
$42.45B in Broadband Allocations to States, Territories and the District of Columbia
Funds will be distributed to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories through the Broadband Equity, Access and Development program. The funding will expand broadband access in communities that have historically had limited access to high-speed internet. Eligible entities will be notified of their allocation on June 30 and have 180 days to submit their initial proposals. Read more.
Education Department Announces New Income-Driven Repayment Plan
The new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan is open to all borrowers and is the most generous income-driven repayment option available. Some benefits of the plan will be made available to borrowers by the end of the student loan repayment pause on Aug. 30. This includes raising the cap on income protected from repayment to 225% of the federal poverty line from the current 150% limit. Individual borrowers with incomes below $32,805 and families of four below $67,500 would have no monthly payments. Additionally, any unpaid interest above a borrower’s monthly payment would be waived and not capitalized on the principal, thus ending negative amortization, which many borrowers experience on current income-driven plans.
The full plan will take effect July 1, 2024. At that time, borrowers with undergraduate debt will make monthly payments of 5% of their discretionary income above the protected income limits, down from 10% under current plans. Additionally, borrowers with original principal balances of $12,000 or less would qualify for forgiveness after 10 years, with each additional $1,000 of borrowing adding another year until forgiveness. Borrowers, regardless of their principal balance, would have their remaining balance forgiven after 20 years of successful repayment for undergraduate borrowers and 25 years for graduate borrowers.
Borrowers who are already signed up for the current Revised Pay as You Earn (REPAYE) plan will be automatically enrolled in SAVE once the new plan is implemented. Borrowers who are at least 75 days delinquent on payments will automatically be enrolled in an income-driven plan if the department is authorized to access the borrower’s income from the IRS. Defaulted borrowers will also be granted access to an income-driven plan for the first time.
Finally, the department will phase out new enrollments in other income-driven plans to make the SAVE plan the primary option for borrowers. Read more.
Education Department Announces ‘On-Ramp’ to Repayment as Loan Pause Ends
Student loan interest will resume starting on Sept. 1, and payments will be due starting in October. The department is instituting a 12-month “on-ramp” to repayment, running from Oct. 1, 2023, to Sept. 30, 2024. During this period, borrowers will be protected from certain consequences of late, missed or partial payments. Any interest that accrues during this period will not capitalize at the end of the on-ramp period. Borrowers will not be reported to credit bureaus, be considered in default or be referred to collection agencies for late, missed or partial payments during the on-ramp period. Read more.
Education Department Announces New Attempt at Broad-Based Student Loan Forgiveness
The department will host a public hearing on July 18 for comments on the authority of the secretary of education to modify, waive or compromise federal loans through the Higher Education Act. This rulemaking process is regarded as an alternative pathway for broad-based loan forgiveness after the president’s one-time student debt relief plan was struck down by the Supreme Court. Read more.
Education Department Launches Pell Grant Application Process for Prison Education Programs
For the first time in nearly 30 years, people enrolled in approved prison education programs will be eligible for Federal Pell Grants outside a limited pilot program known as the Second Chance Pell Experiment. The opportunity is a result of statutory changes enacted through the FAFSA Simplification Act. The department began accepting applications on July 3, and will approve applications on a rolling basis. Read more.
Math and Reading Scores for 13-Year-Olds Show Decline From 2019-20
New results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress Long-Term Trends Assessments show that average scores for 13-year-olds decreased by four points in reading and nine points in math since the 2019-2020 school year. Compared with a decade ago, scores dropped seven points in reading and 14 points in math. The National Center for Education Statistics has given the assessment to a nationally representative sample of students ages 9, 13 and 17 since the 1970s. Read more.
Supreme Court Updates
NCSL Summaries of Recent Supreme Court Decisions
Student Loan Forgiveness Program
In addition to striking down the administration’s student loan forgiveness program, the justices ruled that individual borrowers who challenged the plan because they did not qualify for the maximum amount of available relief lacked standing to bring their case. Read more.
Immigration Rulings
The court issued two immigration rulings in its race to finish the final month of its 2022-23 term. The decisions in U.S. v. Hansen and U.S. v. Texas are victories for the Biden administration, which prevailed in both. Read more.
Use of Race in the College Admissions Process
The justices held that admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, and that race can no longer be used as a factor in admissions. Read more.
Corporate Registration Law in Personal Jurisdiction Case
The court upheld the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law requiring out-of-state companies that want to do business in the state to register and consent to appear in a Pennsylvania court if they are sued. Read more.
Independent State Legislature Theory
In Moore v. Harper, the justices rejected a reading of the Constitution that would have given state legislatures largely unchecked power over federal elections. Read more.