Congress·In Committee·S. 4097

State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act

State-Based Student Loans: New Rules for State Programs

4 months ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

Legislative Progress

Senate

House

President

Law

Key Points

This bill changes federal rules to make it easier for colleges to tell students about student loan programs run by state governments or local nonprofits. Currently, these state programs have to follow the same strict rules as big private banks when they partner with schools.
To qualify for these easier rules, the state loans must be a good deal for the borrower. Their interest rates and fees must be the same as or lower than Federal PLUS loans, which are the standard federal loans for parents and graduate students.
Before a student can take out one of these state loans, the college must prove they told the student to use all their federal loan options first. They also have to explain federal perks like loan forgiveness and plans that lower monthly payments based on how much money the student makes after graduation.
The goal is to give students more low-cost options for school. By cutting the red tape for state programs, the bill's sponsors hope to provide a cheaper alternative to high-interest loans from private banks for students who need extra help paying for college.

Impact Analysis

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Milestones

3 milestones3 actions

Mar 19, 2026Senate

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.

Mar 16, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.

Mar 16, 2026

Introduced in Senate

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

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Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

State-Based Education Loan Awareness Act

Bill NumberS 4097

Congress119th Congress

ChamberSenate

Latest ActionCommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Hearings held.

Data Sources

Congress.gov

Official legislative information

Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(6)

D: 2R: 4

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.