Res Ipsa Blog

On July 31, 2008, Congress passed the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2008. The bill, which will now be sent to the President for his approval, has a number of provisions that affect current and future law students:

Section 951 of H.R. 4137: A loan forgiveness program for state or local criminal prosecutors as well as state, local, or federal public defenders which will allow for the forgiveness of $10,000 in students loans per year, up to $60,000, provided the attorney commits to at least three years of continuous service as a prosecutor or public defender. Federal prosecutors were not included in this forgiveness program because there already a Loan Repayment Assistance Program for federal prosecutors, although the forgiveness program for federal prosecutors is available only to a very small number of applicants.

Section 110: Colleges and universities will be required to publish the cost of textbooks as part of a drive to encourage “institutions of higher education to implement numerous options to address college textbook affordability.”

Section 401: The Pell Grant will be increased to $9,000.

Section 482: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid will reduced in length by at least half.

Bill Tracker:

Written by Benson Varghese. ♦ Contact Benson.♦ Have Res Ipsa Blog delivered to you.