Connecticut lawmakers are considering legislation that would give a student debt reimbursement of up to $20,000.
On average, Connecticut residents hold nearly $40,000 in student loan debt. Connecticut has the fifth highest amount of student loan debt in the United States with $17.8 billion. The proposed House bill would allocate $10 million to debt relief.
State Representative Corey Paris (D-Stamford) said student loan debt is much higher for Black and Brown borrowers and for women, rather than their white male counterparts.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do by addressing this critical need,” Paris said. “We will achieve a lot of great things for many in this state, which will create equality. I’m standing with a ton of great advocates and a ton of phenomenal legislators who are also passionate about this work, in this bill.”
Ingrid Alvarez-Marzo is the director of the Hispanic Federation. She said this type of legislation is necessary for the greater good of the state’s economy and development.
“So why lose our vibrant, young, healthy, human capital to neighboring states when we’ve invested in their education and their development so that they can stay right here at home and build the Connecticut of the future, that for decades, the people of the state continue to ask for,” she said.
To be eligible under the proposal, borrowers must be graduates from a state-based college or university, stay in the state for at least five years, be under age 40, and have 50 hours of volunteer service per year for a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Students in education and child care, nursing, mental health services and social services could all receive loan reimbursements.
State Representative Christine Palm, a Democrat serving Connecticut's 36th District, said lawmakers must help young people out of debt because they are not to blame.
“College costs 15 times more, and yet the price of a dollar has dropped precipitously,” Palm said. “So when you run that math, there is no way that that is not a runaway train for young people.”
