College debt relief plan for public service work

It is 7 a.m. and Brittany Sims is beginning her morning routine in her Hyattsville, Md., one-bedroom apartment. She showers, checks Craig's List for new higher-paying employment listings, and then sets off to one of her two jobs, which combined earn her $773.29 every two weeks.After the rent, utility bill and groceries, Sims has only $40 for expenses, including transportation and other bills, which must wait for another payday.

Sims has one more year to graduate, but she is worried about the $30,000 student loan debt she has so far amassed as a student at Howard University.

Across the city in Northeast, 2008 Howard graduate Brittany Thomas recently learned she was accepted to American University's Washington College of Law. But with $45,000 in undergraduate student loans, Simms is already anxious about the debt attending law school will add to her total student loan debt.

"Owing so much makes graduate school that much more difficult to imagine," said Thomas. "Student debt makes college unattainable for some."

But for Sims, Thomas and other college or professional school graduates, a new federal law that went into effect on July 1 will make college indebtedness a little less daunting. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act provides college loan forgiveness for any one holding a public service job for at least 10 years.

But even those who choose the private sector, would benefit from a provision, which caps monthly repayments at 15 percent of the graduate's discretionary income.

In the past, the loan repayment forgiveness program was available to only new lawyers and doctors who agreed to practice in the public service field. The new law expands this program to include military service members, first responders, law enforcement officers, firefighters, nurses, public defenders, prosecutors, early childhood educators, librarians, government employees, and workers in non-profit organizations.

But Sims said she never heard of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act. She suspects few other students have either.

"It sounds almost too good to be true," Sims said. "For individuals who plan on making a career in these fields, it is really a good deal. If it does what it says, it seems like an amazing opportunity for current college students to dig themselves out of debt and for future college students to view post-secondary education as a realistic goal."

A new online resource created by the Equal Justice Works organization explains the details of the college loan forgiveness program and serves as a forum for information and eligibility requirements. It also offers a Public Service Loan Forgiveness checklist.

"This law is great and absolutely necessary," said Nia Shambourger, a senior at Benjamin Banneker High School in Northwest DC. "Many college students are in debt and it's a recession, so money-saving options like these will only be beneficial."

Shambourger's classmate, Katrina Akers, hopes to receive enough scholarships to not have to go into debt. "I don't see myself dedicating 10 years of my career for forgiveness," she said.

"We think that the College Cost Reduction and Access Act is probably the most significant breakthrough in public interest law in a generation," said Heather Jarvis, senior program manager for Equal Justice Works and Vice Chair of the ABA Section of Legal Education's Committee on Government Relations and Student Financial Aid. "I'm continually surprised at how little is known about the benefits of the new law."

"This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in public service," said Leon Samuels, Jr., a University of the District of Columbia graduate and youth director at Perry School Community Services, a non-profit organization.

"Students need to research aid and programs like this because not only will they lessen their debt, but serve their community."

On the Net: http://www.equaljusticeworks.org/resources/student-debt-relief/default.