This article quotes a CLASP report and recommendations about losing the racial wealth gap through student loan cancellation, payment reforms, and investment in college affordability.
Threats to farmworkers, such as fewer worker protections and unsafe working environments, call for new federal policies and investments to protect all workers across the food supply industry, support immigration rights, and transform our agricultural system.
As we celebrate 50 years of the Pell Grant, we are at a critical moment to ensure the program meets these changing needs now—and in the decades to come. Here are three of CLASP's key recommendations for the future of the program.
"According to J Geiman of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Black borrowers are most likely to feel the long-term stress of student debt while obtaining the fewest rewards from higher education."
"Other research has tied student debt to serious mental health tolls, according to J. Geiman, a policy analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington, D.C."
While rates of adult mental illness were on the rise even before the pandemic, the grief, isolation, and anxiety brought about by COVID-19 have contributed to increased rates of more severe mental health symptoms, particularly among youth, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Black and Native American populations.