Student loan debt prevents people of color, low-income and first-generation students from accessing the wealth-building opportunities that higher education is meant to provide, and we know that needs to change. In our pursuit of economic justice and educational equity, we welcome the Department of Education’s final rule to improve Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plans, especially after the disappointing Supreme Court ruling on student loan forgiveness last month.

The U.S. Department of Education has released proposed regulations to overhaul student loan repayment plans by creating a more affordable Income Driven Repayment (IDR) plan for borrowers.

Meaningful student loan debt relief must be provided to struggling borrowers to start addressing inequities that have disproportionately saddled borrowers of color with higher amounts of student debt, leading to hardships that stymie repayment of those loans and in turn greater rates of default.

On behalf of the 800 leaders of color in our network, Educational Leaders of Color (EdLoC), we write to urge Congress to expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) before the end of the year. In the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Congress temporarily expanded the CTC, paid it monthly, and made it fully refundable:  it increased the maximum credit to $3,600 per child for children through age 5 and $3,000 for children aged 6 to 17; it allowed families to newly claim their 17-year-old children; and it made the credit fully available to families with children that lacked earnings in a year or had earnings that were too low.

Today, Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) CEO Sharhonda Bossier released the following statement reacting to President Biden’s executive action to forgive $10,000 of debt for student loan borrowers.

Racial and economic inequities exacerbate the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis for borrowers of color, burdening them with student debt, greater difficulty repaying student loans, and greater rates of default.

Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) has weighed in on the proposed federal regulations to improve student loan relief programs. The Biden-Harris Administration is proposing new regulations on various provisions that could benefit student loan borrowers, including students of color who are disproportionately negatively impacted by the student loan debt crisis.

Yesterday, the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor took a major step forward in the effort to ensure that hunger is no longer a barrier to thriving for millions of children across the country by approving and advancing the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act. The bill aims to address long-standing inequities in food security, exacerbated by the pandemic, which have disproportionately impacted the academic success of children of color.

The first major overhaul of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 is being proposed by the three federal agencies charged with regulation of the statute. EdLoC is joining Prosperity Now and organizations across sectors to provide feedback that would strengthen and modernize regulations to avoid discriminatory or predatory practices in the nation's banking and housing systems.

On June 21, 2022, Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) joined a diverse group of education, nutrition, and disabilities’ rights organizations and sent a letter to President Joe Biden calling for an additional topic - the role schools play in addressing student hunger - to be addressed at the upcoming White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health.

Today, Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) CEO, Sharhonda Bossier, released the following statement reacting to President Biden’s budget request for 2023:

“In his second budget to Congress, President Biden continues to take steps to reverse decades of inadequate funding for children and families by proposing significant increases in funding for education and workforce development, including expanding access to federal student aid to DACA recipients, to expand access to capital for small and minority-owned business, to strengthen our public health infrastructure, and to continue to increase the supply of affordable housing and support economic development in underserved communities.

Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC) CEO, Sharhonda Bossier, released the following statement reacting to the $1.5 trillion spending bill Congress passed late last week:

“As leaders who understand the barriers preventing youth of color and their families from thriving because we have faced them in our own lives, we are disappointed that Congress’ $1.5 trillion dollar spending bill fails to provide adequate support for programs our communities desperately need.