On Monday, the Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 10 (Sponsors- Delegates Simon and Price), the Student Loan Borrowers’ Bill of Rights. The scope of the issue of student loans is huge in Virginia; a report released early this year found that more than 1 million Virginians carry a total of $43 billion in student debt.
“This legislation will help prioritize the interests of educators over loan servicers,” said Tina Williams, president of Fairfax County Federation of Teachers. “Educators in Virginia face many barriers to entering the field and women and people of color are some of the first to be targeted by loan servicers. This bill will balance the playing field to help our public schools recruit and retain a diverse and equitable pool of educators.”
The bill would add student loan servicers like Navient to the list of financial entities regulated by the state’s Bureau of Financial Institutions. the bill prohibits loan servicers from misapplying loan payments, misrepresenting or omitting material information about the terms or conditions of the loan, and providing inaccurate information to credit bureaus.
How the Delegates Voted
Senator Janet Howell is the patron of the legislation in the Senate: Senate Bill 77.
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