Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H6098 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 6098
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7	7	LC002390
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Shallcross Smith, Fogarty, Ajello, Handy, Fellela,
17	17	Spears, Casimiro, Dawson, McNamara, and Serpa
18	18	Date Introduced: March 14, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Finance
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Title 16 of the General Laws entitled "EDUCATION" is hereby amended by 1
24	24	adding thereto the following chapter: 2
25	25	CHAPTER 117 3
26	26	STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM 4
27	27	16-117-1. Short title. 5
28	28	This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Rhode Island Student Loan 6
29	29	Repayment Program." 7
30	30	16-117-2. Creation. 8
31	31	(a) There is hereby established at the Rhode Island student loan authority (RISLA) a 9
32	32	restricted receipt account entitled the Rhode Island student loan repayment fund (“the fund”). The 10
33	33	fund shall be used to provide eligible individuals, defined in § 16-117-4, with payment from the 11
34	34	state to the individual’s employer to pay a portion of their student loan debt. 12
35	35	(b) RISLA shall administer the fund. 13
36	36	(c) RISLA shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement this chapter, 14
37	37	which shall include, but are not limited to, providing an easy-to-follow guide in a variety of 15
38	38	languages regarding how to complete the request for student loan debt relief. 16
39	39	(d) The general assembly shall appropriate ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to the fund, 17
40	40	two million dollars ($2,000,000) to be disbursed this year, the remaining eight million dollars 18
41	41	($8,000,000) to be held in a restrictive account, and shall disburse two million dollars ($2,000,000) 19
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45	45	for each subsequent year. After that time, the Rhode Island student loan repayment program shall 1
46	46	cease to operate, unless extended or made permanent by further action of the general assembly. 2
47	47	16-117-3. Definitions. 3
48	48	For the purposes of this chapter: 4
49	49	(1) “Debt relief recipients” means individuals receiving student debt relief under this 5
50	50	chapter; 6
51	51	(2) “Eligible individuals” means persons described in §§ 16-117-4 and 16-117-6; 7
52	52	(3) “Request for student debt relief” means the process by which individuals submit the 8
53	53	materials and documentation required by RISLA under this chapter; 9
54	54	(4) “RISLA” means the Rhode Island student loan authority; 10
55	55	(5) “Service requirements” means specific employment and work obligations set forth in 11
56	56	this chapter that individuals shall meet to obtain student debt relief under this chapter; and 12
57	57	(6) “Underserved community” means a federally designated health professional shortage 13
58	58	area as identified by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, an agency of the 14
59	59	United States Department of Health and Human Services. 15
60	60	16-117-4. Eligibility of individuals. 16
61	61	(a) Individuals employed by a Rhode Island-based employer may be eligible for the Rhode 17
62	62	Island student loan repayment program if they: 18
63	63	(1) Have eligible, unpaid student loans; 19
64	64	(2) Are employed as a licensed clinical social worker or social caseworker or child 20
65	65	protective investigator in any public elementary or secondary school in the state; 21
66	66	(3) Have committed to work as a licensed clinical social worker or social caseworker or 22
67	67	child protective investigator in any public elementary or secondary school in the state, full-time for 23
68	68	two (2) consecutive years in this state; and 24
69	69	(4) Have applied and are enrolled in the federal student aid, saving on a valuable education 25
70	70	(SAVE) program. 26
71	71	(b) Preference for student loan debt relief under this chapter may be given to individuals 27
72	72	who work in an underserved community. 28
73	73	16-117-5. Service requirements to receive student debt relief. 29
74	74	(a) Eligible individuals who are approved for student debt relief under this chapter shall 30
75	75	have their required monthly student loan payment paid directly to the debt relief recipient’s 31
76	76	employer for up to two (2) consecutive years or twenty-four (24) consecutive months. 32
77	77	(b) To receive student debt relief under this chapter, the eligible individual shall: 33
78	78	(1) Meet the eligibility requirements set forth in §§ 16-117-4 and 16-117-6; 34
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82	82	(2) Complete and submit a request for student debt relief in a manner and form prescribed 1
83	83	by RISLA; 2
84	84	(3) Receive financial counseling from RISLA related to managing and repaying their 3
85	85	student debt; and 4
86	86	(4) Have their request for student debt relief approved by RISLA; 5
87	87	(c) Except as provided below in this section, a debt relief recipient is no longer eligible to 6
88	88	receive debt relief under this chapter when any of the following occurs: 7
89	89	(1) The debt relief recipient no longer meets the eligibility requirements set forth in §§ 16-8
90	90	117-4 and 16-117-6; 9
91	91	(2) The debt relief recipient receives twenty-four (24) consecutive months of debt relief 10
92	92	under this chapter; and 11
93	93	(3) The debt relief recipient no longer has an outstanding balance on their eligible student 12
94	94	loans. 13
95	95	(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter, debt relief recipients may request a 14
96	96	leave of absence from their employer when the debt relief recipient or a member of their household 15
97	97	experiences a serious illness or other natural cause, becomes pregnant, or is called to military 16
98	98	service, which temporarily prevents the debt relief recipient from continuing to meet the 17
99	99	requirements set forth in §§ 16-117-4 and 16-117-6. 18
100	100	(1) If approved by the employer, leaves of absence will pause the monthly payments made 19
101	101	on behalf of the debt relief recipient pursuant to this chapter. Payments will resume once the leave 20
102	102	of absence ends and the debt relief recipient returns to work as a licensed clinical social worker in 21
103	103	any public elementary or secondary school in the state, as required by this chapter. 22
104	104	(2) Except where otherwise provided, leaves of absence may not exceed more than one 23
105	105	calendar year, or the individual may be withdrawn from consideration for student debt relief. 24
106	106	(3) Leaves of absence due to military service of the debt relief recipient or their spouse 25
107	107	may not exceed three (3) calendar years. 26
108	108	(4) The debt relief recipient shall present documentation to RISLA showing that a leave of 27
109	109	absence was granted. 28
110	110	(5) The debt relief recipient shall present documentation to RISLA showing that they have 29
111	111	resumed working as a qualified individual in any public elementary or secondary school in the state 30
112	112	after the leave of absence has concluded. 31
113	113	(e) A reduction in force shall not preclude a debt relief recipient from fulfilling the 32
114	114	consecutive years of service obligation, if the following provisions are met: 33
115	115	(1) Debt relief recipients shall provide to RISLA documentation of the reduction in force; 34
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119	119	(2) Debt relief recipients shall resume working as a qualified individual in any public 1
120	120	elementary or secondary school in the state no later than eighteen (18) months after the reduction 2
121	121	in force; 3
122	122	(3) If an eligible recipient fails to fulfill their two (2) year commitment as defined in § 16-4
123	123	117-4(c) all debt repayment will be paused unless a recipient requalifies no later than eighteen (18) 5
124	124	months after the initial separation. 6
125	125	(f) Upon the effective date of this chapter: 7
126	126	(1) Any individual who has been employed for fewer than three (3) years as a qualified 8
127	127	individual in any public elementary or secondary school in the state may submit a request for 9
128	128	student debt relief under this chapter; provided that they meet the eligibility requirements set forth 10
129	129	in §§ 16-117-4 and 16-117-6. 11
130	130	(2) Individuals who have been employed for three (3) or more years as a qualified 12
131	131	individual in any public elementary or secondary school in the state shall not be permitted to submit 13
132	132	a request for student debt relief under this chapter. 14
133	133	16-117-6. Eligibility of loans and lenders. 15
134	134	(a) RISLA shall retain the right to determine the eligibility of employers and education 16
135	135	loans to which student debt relief payments may be made under this chapter. 17
136	136	(b) An eligible lender shall make or hold education loans to individuals for purposes of 18
137	137	undergraduate or graduate education and shall not be any private individual. 19
138	138	(c) An eligible lender may be, but is not limited to, a bank, savings and loan association, 20
139	139	credit union, institution of higher education, secondary market, governmental agency, or private 21
140	140	foundation. 22
141	141	(d) Credit card, equity loans, and other similar personal loan products are not considered 23
142	142	educational loans eligible for repayment under this chapter. 24
143	143	(e) An education loan shall: 25
144	144	(1) Be evidenced by a promissory note for loans to pay for the cost of attendance for the 26
145	145	undergraduate or graduate education of the individual applying for repayment assistance; 27
146	146	(2) Not have an existing obligation to provide service for loan relief through another 28
147	147	program; and 29
148	148	(3) If the loan was consolidated with other loans, the individual shall provide 30
149	149	documentation of the portion of the consolidated debt that was originated to pay for the cost of 31
150	150	attendance for individual's undergraduate or graduate education. 32
151	151	16-117-7. Student loan repayment program limits. 33
152	152	(a) The total amount of student loan repayment shall not exceed a monthly payment of five 34
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156	156	hundred dollars ($500). 1
157	157	(b) The total amount of student loan repayments shall not exceed the outstanding balance. 2
158	158	16-117-8. Administration of Rhode Island student loan repayment fund. 3
159	159	(a) RISLA shall administer the fund to the debt relief recipient’s employer. 4
160	160	(b) Part of administering the fund shall include making provisions to minimize the impact 5
161	161	that any student debt relief provided pursuant to this chapter has on a debt relief recipient’s taxable 6
162	162	income. 7
163	163	(c) As part of the rules and regulations promulgated, RISLA may design a process for 8
164	164	obtaining informed consent from individuals to work directly with their student loan servicers to 9
165	165	collect certain documentation required by this chapter, such as a loan’s promissory note and current 10
166	166	balance. 11
167	167	(d) The form of the request for student debt relief and the information required therein shall 12
168	168	be set by RISLA. 13
169	169	(e) RISLA shall make forms required by this chapter available to the public on its website 14
170	170	in a variety of languages and, if requested, via hardcopy. 15
171	171	16-117-9. Disbursement. 16
172	172	(a) All funds distributed in accordance with this chapter shall be: 17
173	173	(1) Paid directly to the employer on a monthly basis; and 18
174	174	(2) Allocated only toward the eligible loans issued to pay for the fees, tuition, room, and 19
175	175	board of the debt relief recipient in connection with their attendance at an institution of higher 20
176	176	education. 21
177	177	(b) Through the financial counseling required under this chapter, RISLA shall discuss 22
178	178	different student loan repayment strategies with debt relief recipients, which shall include, but are 23
179	179	not limited to: 24
180	180	(1) How the debt relief payments made under this chapter may be allocated to various 25
181	181	student loan servicers, if applicable; 26
182	182	(2) The implications of different allocation options; and 27
183	183	(3) The various loan repayment programs that may be available to the debt relief recipient. 28
184	184	(c) If, in a given fiscal year, there are insufficient funds available for RISLA to make the 29
185	185	student debt relief payments required under this chapter to the debt relief recipient’s employer, 30
186	186	RISLA shall develop and implement an equitable and alternative priority process, which, at 31
187	187	minimum, shall take the following into consideration: 32
188	188	(1) The number of debt relief installments received to date by the individual’s employer 33
189	189	pursuant to this chapter; and 34
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193	193	(2) An individual’s income-to-student debt ratio. 1
194	194	16-117-10. Reporting. 2
195	195	(a) In its annual report required by § 16-62-18, RISLA shall include an evaluation of the 3
196	196	Rhode Island student loan repayment program. The evaluation shall include, but is not limited to, 4
197	197	the following: 5
198	198	(1) The number of individuals whose request for student debt relief under this chapter was 6
199	199	approved; 7
200	200	(2) The actual dollar amount paid for student debt relief under this chapter in the previous 8
201	201	year; 9
202	202	(3) The employers of the individuals who received student debt relief under this chapter; 10
203	203	and 11
204	204	(4) Whether the debt relief recipient attended an institution of higher education in Rhode 12
205	205	Island or out-of-state. 13
206	206	(b) Reporting required under this section shall take extreme care to maintain the privacy of 14
207	207	the individuals requesting and/or receiving student debt relief under this chapter. 15
208	208	(c) Annual reporting on the fund shall only continue as long as the fund exists. 16
209	209	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 17
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216	216	EXPLANATION
217	217	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
218	218	OF
219	219	A N A C T
220	220	RELATING TO EDUCATION -- STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT PROGRAM
221	221	***
222	222	This act would create the Rhode Island Student Loan repayment program which would 1
223	223	allow eligible individuals who have unpaid student loans to receive relief if the individual is 2
224	224	employed as a licensed clinical social worker or social caseworker or child protective investigator 3
225	225	in any public elementary or secondary school in this state, has been full-time in this state in such 4
226	226	employment for two (2) years and is enrolled in the Federal Student Aid, Saving on a Valuable 5
227	227	Education program. The act would also appropriate the sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) to 6
228	228	fund this program. 7
229	229	This act would take effect upon passage. 8
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