Major Education Bills to Support Colorado Students & Enhance Equity Become Law
DENVER, CO – Yesterday, the governor signed three major education bills into law that will protect student loan borrowers, invest $50 million to support higher education, and study improvements to Colorado’s school funding formula.
SB21-057, sponsored by Senators Faith Winter and Julie Gonzales, will provide protections – similar to the protections granted for federal loans – to students who take out private loans to be used for postsecondary education.
“Private student loan lenders have been using predatory practices to take advantage of borrowers for years. As people struggle to find work during the economic downturn, this issue has only been exacerbated,” said Senator Faith Winter (D-Westminster). “If we are going to successfully recover following this devastating pandemic, we need to provide protections for the hundreds of thousands of Coloradans who are crippled by student debt and allow them the space to forge a path towards financial freedom.”
“The growing student debt crisis is hurting people of color the most,” said Senator Julie Gonzales (D-Denver). “Paying back student loans should be fair and transparent, yet student borrowers and their families are continually exploited by predatory lending practices, exacerbating racial disparities and inequity. This law will protect vulnerable and marginalized borrowers in Colorado – giving people a chance to fight for their economic future.”
Colorado borrowers currently owe $9.1 billion in private student loan debt and that number is growing. As the cost of college has risen, it widens an already large intergenerational debt and wealth gap between families of color and white families. Black, Latinx, and low-income borrowers use private student loans less, compared to white and higher-income borrowers, but frequently face higher levels of challenges in repayment.
HB21-1330, sponsored by Senator Rachel Zenzinger, utilizes federal stimulus dollars to invest a historic $50 million in the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, Colorado Department of Education programs to incentivize students to re-enroll and complete postsecondary credentials and degrees, and a grant program to assist students in completing applications for financial assistance.
HB21-1325, also sponsored by Senator Zenzinger, establishes a bipartisan interim committee process to recommend additional changes to the school finance formula. Many of the original provisions in the bill were adopted in this year’s School Finance Act, such as updating the school funding formula to include a factor for English Language Learners (ELL) to provide additional resources to schools that have a higher ELL enrollment and adjusting the definition of “at-risk pupils” to include students eligible to receive reduced-price lunch.
“These bills will help students on every level,” said Senator Rachel Zenzinger (D-Arvada). “HB21-1325 builds upon the important work that the school finance interim committee was accomplishing, in the effort to make school funding most equitable. And HB21-1330 will help keep higher-ed students in school and on track toward appropriate degrees, despite the continued economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."