Students and Advocates Support Student Loan Bill of Rights

Students at Northeastern Law put together a detailed report, and eleven organizations sent a letter of support to the Massachusetts State Senate.

Photo: Rep. Natalie Higgins and Zac Bears join the students of Law Office 13 at Northeastern University School of Law. (Zac Bears/PHENOM)

Eleven student, education and consumer advocacy organizations sent a letter to Massachusetts State Senators on Tuesday declaring their support for the Student Loan Bill of Rights (S.2380) and outlining the urgent need to address the student debt crisis crushing Massachusetts students and families.

Students at Northeastern University School of Law worked with PHENOM over the past year to develop a comprehensive report on the Student Loan Bill of Rights titled “You Are Not A Loan,” available on our website. The report details the immediate necessity of consumer protections for student borrowers and provides recommendations for bill amendments and other steps to help student borrowers.

On Wednesday, the students who wrote the report as well as students from PHENOM chapters in the Boston area will gather at the State House for a press conference with the lead sponsors of the bill, Senator Eric Lesser and Representative Natalie Higgins.

“With a recent MassBudget report showing that student debt for public college students has grown faster here in Massachusetts than any other state except Delaware since 2001, we cannot afford to delay action,” the endorsing organizations wrote in their letter to state senators.

“Massachusetts has an opportunity to have a positive impact on its student borrowers by filling in the gaps that federal protections have left exposed,” the Northeastern Law students concluded in their report. “By acting on behalf of its student borrowers, Massachusetts would be investing in the education of its residents, and thus in the economic and social well-being of the Commonwealth.”