What does Trump's education secretary pick mean for student loan debt?
As school choice proponents cheered President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 nomination of Republican donor and philanthropist Betsy DeVos as education secretary Wednesday, it wasn鈥檛 clear where she stands on higher education and the rising student loan burden.
As well,聽are still developing. During an October speech in Columbus, Ohio, Trump proposed an income-driven student loan repayment program capping repayment at 12.5% of a borrower鈥檚 income and forgiving loans after 15 years of payments. Currently, the most widely available income-driven repayment plan, known as Revised Pay As You Earn, or REPAYE, caps income levels at 10% and loans are forgiven after 20 years of payments.
Trump also said he plans to hold colleges accountable for investing in their students, cutting tuition and reducing costs related to federal regulations. He has indicated support for a system in which private banks, instead of the government, would issue federal student loans.
Some proposals to the current federal student loan system would require congressional backing and action, but the president can use executive action to push through other changes.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, posted a statement on Twitter on Wednesday saying that he looked forward to working with DeVos 鈥渙n the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, giving us an opportunity to clear out the jungle of red tape that makes it more difficult for students to obtain financial aid and for administrators to manage America鈥檚 6,000 colleges and universities.鈥�
K-12 school choice 鈥� allowing the use of public funds to pay for the school of a student鈥檚 choosing, be it public, private or charter 鈥� is a cornerstone of DeVos鈥� political and educational interests. DeVos, who hasn鈥檛 worked directly in education, is a supporter of charter schools and voucher programs. She is on the board of directors of the Great Lakes Education Project in Michigan and is the chair of the American Federation for Children, which both favor school choice.
Trump called DeVos, 58, a 鈥渂rilliant and passionate education advocate鈥� in a news release Wednesday. He underscored his plans to 鈥渞eform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families.鈥�
DeVos鈥� advocacy would support Trump鈥檚聽聽to increase school choice, especially for low-income students. DeVos and husband Dick led an unsuccessful ballot effort in 2000 to amend the Michigan constitution to allow vouchers for students to attend private schools using taxpayer dollars. Later, DeVos and her husband formed the All Children Matter PAC to support pro-voucher candidates.
One of the nation鈥檚 largest education unions has opposed the nomination.
鈥淒eVos has no meaningful experience in the classroom or in our schools,鈥� American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten said in a statement Wednesday. 鈥淭he sum total of her involvement has been spending her family鈥檚 wealth in an effort to dismantle public education in Michigan. Every American should be concerned that she would impose her reckless and extreme ideology on the nation.鈥�
Anna Helhoski is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:聽anna@nerdwallet.com. Twitter:聽.
This article first appeared in .听
