1. Capping Monthly Payments using “Pay as you Earn”

This would allow borrowers to cap their student loan payments at 10% of discretionary income. For example, a teacher who is earning $30,000 a year and has $25,000 in Federal student loans under the standard repayment plan will have a monthly a repayment of $287.  The currently available IBR plan would reduce this borrower’s payment by $116, to $171.  Under the improved ‘Pay as you Earn’ plan, his monthly payment amount would be even more manageable at only $114.

Borrowers looking for more information on income-based repayment visit http://studentaid.ed.gov/ibr.

The CFPB also released the Student Debt Repayment Assistant, an online tool that provides borrowers with information on income-based repayment, deferments, alternative payment programs, and much more.  The Student Debt Repayment Assistant is available at ConsumerFinance.gov/students/repay

2. Improve Ease of Making Payments and Reduce Default Risk by Consolidating Loans

This would provide a discount on consolidation loans. This special consolidation initiative would keep the terms and conditions of the loans the same, and most importantly, beginning in January 2012, allow borrowers to make only one monthly payment, as opposed to two or more payments. Borrowers who take advantage of this special, limited-time consolidation option would also receive up to a 0.5 percent reduction to their interest rate on some of their loans.

3. Provide Consumers with Better Information to Make College Selection Decisions

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education have teamed up to launch a new “Know Before You Owe” project aimed at creating a model financial aid disclosure form, which will make it easier to compare aid packages offered by different institutions.

To read more about the proposed reform or leave a comment go to: http://iowahouse.org/educationreform

“With schools planning to hand out pink slips to over 1,500 teachers, it’s outrageous that House Republicans are doing nothing to stop teacher layoffs at schools across Iowa,” said Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City. “With a $1 billion state surplus and improving economy, the state can provide modest growth for our schools next year and prevent teacher layoffs.”

Rep. Steckman called for an immediate debate and vote of House File 185, which provides a 2% allowable growth for Iowa schools. It has already been approved by the Senate but it was voted down on a party line vote in the Iowa House today.

“Iowa students and teachers deserve better,” concluded Steckman. “We can balance the state budget without leaving our kids behind.”

The Iowa Department of Education released this statement:

“Iowa provides high school students with an excellent opportunity to take courses through our highly-regarded community college system, and this report shows that more and more students are making use of this opportunity,” said Jason Glass, director of the Iowa Department of Education.

Iowa allows for students to be jointly enrolled in high school as well as community college credit coursework. Most jointly enrolled students do so through Senior Year Plus programs such as Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) and concurrent enrollment. Some students enroll independently by paying tuition or enrolling in courses delivered through contractual agreements that do not meet the definition of concurrent enrollment.

“Iowa’s school districts and community colleges are helping tens of thousands of students across the state take the courses they need to succeed in school, in careers and in life,” added Dr. Roger Utman, Administrator of the Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation at the Iowa Department of Education.

Some of the highlights of this report include:

• Enrollment grew to a record high of 38,283 in 2010;

• Year-to-year growth was 14.2 percent, which was above the typical rate of growth. Average annual growth over the last five years was 8.4 percent;

• Jointly enrolled students accounted for 25.7 percent of total community college enrollment;

• Joint enrollment accounts for 13.6 percent of total credit hours;

• Most students (78 percent) enrolled through courses delivered through a contractual agreement between a community college and school district;

• Fifteen percent of students enrolled through Postsecondary PSEO courses;

• Fifty-nine percent of joint enrollees were seniors in high school, and 32 percent were juniors;

• Approximately 51 percent of joint enrollees were female, a lower proportion than the total student body;

• Approximately 10 percent of joint enrollees had a minority racial or ethnic background, a lower proportion than the total student body;

• Of courses taken by jointly enrolled students, the most common subject areas are English language and literature, social sciences and history, and mathematics, followed by foreign language and literature and various career and technical disciplines.

Here is the latest from Radio Iowa:

The state’s educators are sending an urgent message to state policymakers. Groups representing teachers, school administrators, Area Education Agencies and school boards organized a statehouse news conference this morning, asking legislators to quickly forward more state support to Iowa’s public K-through-12 schools.

By law, legislators and the governor are supposed to set the level of general state aid for public schools in early February, but Democrats have proposed a two percent increase, while Republicans say the state’s in bad financial shape and schools shouldn’t get any increase at all. The two sides can’t strike a compromise.

Brent Siegrist , executive director of the state’s nine Area Education Agencies, is a Republican who used to be Speaker of the Iowa House.

“It’s time to act,” Siegrist says. “You have thousands of educators out there, hanging in the wind out there, wondering if they’re going to get a pink slip.” Chris Bern of the Iowa State Education Association says the state teachers’ union estimates Iowa’s public schools will send pink slips to 15-hundred teachers and other school employees by the end of this school year.

“Cedar Rapids is eliminating 61 positions. Council Bluffs is eliminating 50. Iowa City is eliminating 60. Sioux City is eliminating 106 positions, which represents over 10 percent of their workforce,” Bern said. “And the list will continue to grow.” John Speer, superintendent of the Ballard Community School District, is a member of the School Administrators of Iowa.

“In Iowa, education and our children have always been our priority,” he says. “…We need to, in a bipartisan effort, work with schools, school boards, teachers, the governor and the legislature to make kids a priority again in Iowa.” Perry Schools Superintendent Lynn Ubben made a million dollars’ worth of cuts last year in the budget for her district and she predicts class sizes in elementary grades will swell and course offerings will diminish.

“It is our hope that the legislature and governor make the education of our Iowa children a priority,” Ubben said. Educators are urging the legislature to provide two percent more in general state aid to schools for the school year that starts this fall. Cedar Rapids Superintendent David Benson warned property owners in 277 school districts will see their taxes go up if the Republicans win this debate and schools get no additional money.

“As a flood-affected city still recovering from the devastating June, 2008 floods, our patrons are particularly sensitive to tax rate,” Benson said. Siegrist, the former Republican legislator who runs the state’s Area Education Agencies, says it appears to him there is room in a $6-billion state budget to provide about $55-million more for schools and cut taxes.

“It requires some tough decisions,” Siegrist says, “but they can do both.” According to Siegrist, there will be “dramatic” layoffs in the Area Education Agencies if there is no additional state aid for the coming school year.

For example, A.E.A. staff who work with children with special needs, like kids who have autism, may meet with that child once a week rather than twice a week, Siegrist estimates.

“House Republicans are putting up more obstacles for parents who want to make sure their kids get the best education possible instead of providing new jobs and opportunities for middle class families,” said Rep. Nate Willems, who has two young children and is Ranking Member of the House Education Committee.  “Dismantling Iowa’s statewide preschool initiative for 20,000 four year olds will reduce access to both public and private preschools for all families while giving parents no guarantee of even having a teacher with a degree in early childhood education.”

“With parents trying to enroll their kids in preschool right now for next fall, thousands of Iowa kids will be left out if statewide preschool ends next year,” said Rep. Janet Petersen of Des Moines, whose son will be in preschool next fall.   “We should not take steps backwards on preschool.  It has strong support from business leaders, educators, and parents.  A quality preschool helps grow a highly-skilled workforce and saves the state money in the long run.”

The debate over preschool in Iowa started two months ago when Republicans first voted to end Iowa’s statewide preschool initiative. The bill, House File 535, was approved on a 54-44 vote and faces an uncertain future in the Iowa Senate, which voted to preserve Iowa’s preschool initiative earlier this year.

Iowans can listen to House debate here.