The Biden administration made a big announcement canceling student debt last week, but another program could be just as impactful for workers at nonprofit employers in Montana and elsewhere.

The Public Student Loan Forgiveness program erases debt for public service employees and those working at 501(c) 3 nonprofits after they have made at least 10 years of payments.

Tylyn Newcomb, membership manager for the Montana Nonprofit Association, explained the importance of the plan.

"For anyone working in public service, this program goes above and beyond the recently announced $10,000 or $20,000 loan forgiveness," Newcomb emphasized. "This has the potential to forgive all of your student loans, if you've been able to make 120 payments under the program."

A waiver put in place last year makes it easier to qualify for the program. Historically, it has been hard to meet the program's requirements. Between 2007 and 2019, only 1% of people who applied qualified. The deadline to apply under the simplified waiver process is Oct. 31.

Newcomb noted the program was set up with the acknowledgment people in the public and nonprofit sector tend to make less money than those in the private sector. She contended the Public Student Loan Forgiveness program is a way of showing appreciation for these workers.

"This has the opportunity to really lighten the burden of a lot of public service workers through loan forgiveness," Newcomb asserted. "And allow them to continue their employment in the public service sector."

Newcomb added there have been cases of people who made more than 120 qualified payments receiving refunds. The U.S. Department of Education said it has approved more than $10 billion dollars in debt relief for more than 175,000 Americans since the streamlined waiver was put in place 10 months ago.

A new bill in Sacramento would dramatically raise K-12 school funding targets by 50% over ten years. Assembly Bill 477 is intended to help districts raise educators' pay, to attract more people to the profession and keep them there.

Grace Consentino is a middle-school science teacher in Novato.

"My commute every day is a total of one hour and 30 minutes. I would love to be able to live in the town that I work in, but I live in a separate county because the cost of living is so high," she said. "This is why teachers leave."

A recent study on the state of education in California found one in three new educators is seriously thinking about leaving, mostly because of low pay. The bill would hike the local control funding formula.

Opponents say they are concerned about cost. The Assembly Appropriations Committee has not yet completed a fiscal analysis.

Dannel Montesano is a longtime attendance clerk in the Galt Joint Union School District.

"Starting paraprofessional pay in my district is $18.63 an hour, while down the street at McDonald's, the starting pay is over $20 an hour. So, our schools are suffering from constant turnover and staffing issues," Montesano said.

California is bracing for a big hit to the state budget, as tax receipts are expected to be lower. In addition, Congress has proposed billions in cuts to Medi-Cal. And the administration has threatened to pull federal funding from schools that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, sponsored the bill, which went before the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday.

"The Trump administration is attempting to dismantle public education and defund our schools. California must fight back to defend public education," he said.


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After several weeks of public comment, bills addressing school finance in Texas will be presented to the House of Representatives.

House Bill 2 is the public school funding bill and Senate Bill 2 is the voucher proposal, along with its companion bill, House Bill 3.

Chandra Villanueva, director of policy and advocacy for the group Every Texan, said the proposed voucher initiative, which would provide students $10,000 to help pay for private school, would hurt public schools and low-income families.

"Our schools are funded based on attendance, so when kids leave the system, the schools will get less money," Villanueva explained. "Until you can actually close a campus, you still have all of your same fixed costs around utilities, teachers. You'll see more overcrowded classrooms."

Backers of school vouchers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have said public schools will not be negatively affected. This is the second legislative session where Abbott has made a voucher program his top priority.

Teachers, advocacy groups and even members of the Republican Party have spoken out against vouchers. Many Texas teachers spent their spring break testifying before the legislative committee. Villanueva emphasized although the proposal is out of committee, they are not giving up.

"Members need to hear from their constituents," Villanueva stressed. "The public education committee has been targeted the most -- but even now, if your member is not on that committee, they're going to be the ones who are hearing this bill. And a lot of amendments are going to be offered up on the House floor. So that's an opportunity to try to limit the voucher, try to put more guardrails on it."

Both bills are expected to be brought to the House floor at the same time, but a date has not been set.


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Nearly 22,000 Florida college students could lose critical tuition help under a state House budget proposal.

The plan would cut $3,500 annual grants for students at 15 private schools throughout the state, including three historically Black universities and Embry-Riddle, the nation's top civilian flight school.

House lawmakers tied eligibility for Florida's Effective Access to Student Education (EASE) program to five performance metrics, including a 54% graduation rate and affordability benchmarks.

Bob Boyd, president of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, warned of fallout.

"It's going to really devastate our sector," he said. "These are students pursuing nursing degrees, becoming pilots, teachers, and they are going to - a lot of them will drop out of their high-demand degree fields because they're not getting this voucher."

House leaders have said their new performance metrics ensure accountability - affecting just 1.2% of Florida's higher-ed students. But Boyd noted that his schools produce 30% of Florida's nurses while getting just 2% of state funding.

Keiser University Vice Chancellor Belinda Keiser said the cuts would hit non-traditional students hardest - working adults, single parents and first-generation college-goers who rely on these grants.

"Thirty-five hundred dollars a year over the next four years will be taken away," she said. "That might cause some of those students pursuing nursing, pursuing Homeland Security, pursuing cyber - and we offer all those degrees - to drop out. And to me, talent should always be one of your best investments."

The Senate's budget fully funds EASE without new metrics, setting up a clash in the conference committee. Lawmakers must reach a deal by April 29 to allow the constitutionally required 72-hour budget review before the May legislative deadline.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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