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Senate Democrats ask Office of Civil Rights to address student lending racial disparities

Federal Issues U.S. House Student Lending Department of Education Fair Lending

Federal Issues

On February 27, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent a letter to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) asking how the office plans to address reports of racial disparities within the federal student loan industry. The letter discusses OCR’s responsibility for enforcing civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in Department-funded programs and activities, including student aid funding, and notes that OCR also bears the responsibility for examining the role federal student loan contractors may play in racial disparities faced by students of color after they leave their institution of higher learning. The Senators claim that for-profit colleges “disproportionately target students of color and often leave them deep in debt while providing little education value in return.” The Senators also cite new Department data, which shows that “despite using [income-driven repayments] at a much higher rate than other borrowers with the same level of education, Black student borrowers continued to have a higher default rate than their peers, regardless of the type of institution they attended.” Latino and Native student borrowers are also affected by these racial disparities, the letter notes.

Among other things, the Senators request the following from OCR by March 26:

  • Provide a summary of all current and ongoing actions, including enforcement actions, that OCR has taken since January 2017 to address racial disparities in student loan borrowing and outcomes;
  • Conduct a comprehensive investigation into the ways predatory colleges and the student loan industry contribute to racial disparities, such as through servicing and debt collection practices, access to repayment plans, and debt cancellation options for borrowers of color; and
  • Develop a plan to address racial disparities in the student loan industry, including legislative recommendations and new policy guidance to entities involved in the industry.