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:
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Increasing the value of Pell Grants would certainly be most welcome to students in need.