Policy package to ease Parent PLUS burdens: targeted cancellation, full IDR/PSLF access, lower rates, and affordable alternatives¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The brief closes with seven recommendations for Congress and the Biden administration aimed at reducing Black families' Parent PLUS burdens and making college affordable. These include canceling at least $50,000 of federal student debt per borrower — a step more than 80% of National Black Student Debt Study participants think the federal government should take — making Parent PLUS borrowers whose children received a Pell Grant eligible for up to $20,000 in cancellation, granting current and future Parent PLUS borrowers access to all income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness without consolidating, reducing Parent PLUS interest rates to the undergraduate rate, and doubling the Pell Grant with federal-state partnerships for debt-free public college.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Policymakers must act at the federal level; the brief states changing policies and making college more affordable are keys to solving the student debt crisis.

Constraints¶

• The brief warns that access to Parent PLUS loans should not be restricted without more affordable financial aid options to replace them, since the loans are a last resort that kept college within reach for many low-income families.

Target Learners¶

• Black Parent PLUS borrower families and low-income undergraduate students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Preserving affordable access to higher education without intergenerational debt burdens

Claims¶

• Black Parent PLUS borrowers default at disproportionately high rates compared with White parent borrowers [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Federal policy package to end the student debt crisis for Black women: cancel debt, improve IDR, and double the Pell Grant
• Invest in public higher education to lower graduate costs and reduce borrowing reliance

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Victoria Jackson, Brittani Williams, and Jalil B. Mustaffa. (2023). Parent PLUS Loans Are a Double-Edged Sword for Black Borrowers. The Education Trust. https://edtrust.org/resource/parent-plus-loans-are-a-double-edged-sword-for-black-borrowers