Governor Signs Loan Repayment Bill to Encourage Public Interest Careers
Today, House Bill 07-1242, Higher Ed Public Service Loan Repayment, which had passed the House and Senate unanimously, was signed by Governor Bill Ritter at a signing ceremony. The bill allows full implementation of Colorado Law’s Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) by removing a legal barrier to assisting graduates working in public service with loan repayments. It also authorizes governing boards of all institutions of higher education to create similar loan repayment assistance programs to encourage students and graduates to enter public interest careers. Under the rules of the CU Regents, the university currently may not assist alumni with paying loans.
The Prime Sponsors of the bill were Claire Levy and Jennifer Veiga. Cosponsors included Amy Stephens, Ellen Roberts, Michael Merrifield, and Anne McGihon. Getting the bill to pass was the first step, but to make the Colorado Law LRAP a formal program, the Board of Regents must still approve the ruling.
Today’s ceremony was attended by CU-Boulder Chancellor Bud Peterson, Dean David Getches, Christine Arguello, Elisa Dalton, and members of the Colorado Law LRAP Committee: Assistant Dean Lorenzo Trujillo, David Juarez (Class of ’83 and helped write the legislation), Adjunct Professor Roger Flynn (Co-founder of Program), Sarah Quicksall (student) and Michelle Albert (student).
Dean Getches states, “We are proud of the long tradition of public service at Colorado Law and are committed to enabling our students to continue this tradition by providing access to the legal system for disadvantaged and underrepresented clients in need of first-rate lawyers. LRAP was started with funds the students themselves raised. The endowment was given a big boost by receiving $33,000 in proceeds from this year’s Law Alumni Awards Banquet. I am committed to expanding the program by raising private donations for LRAP as well as for scholarships.”
Michelle Albert (Class of ’08) explains, “I chose to leave my ten-year career as an educator so that I could pursue a career in public interest law. Now, as I watch my educational debt grow, I more fully appreciate the difficulty of choosing to pursue a low-paying public interest job when I graduate. LRAP helps students like me make choices to choose work that they are passionate about, and which helps those in need. The program was one of the reasons I chose to attend Colorado Law, and I believe it is one of the most important programs that a law school can offer.”
What is LRAP?
With state support for higher education declining, law school tuition has been rising faster than the rate of inflation, and the size of student loans are rising to keep pace. Colorado Law School tuition has doubled in the past three years, and 85% of last year’s graduates borrowed loans at an average of $60,000. In addition, the disparity between private and public sector salaries remains large.
LRAP provides partial loan forgiveness for recent Colorado Law School graduates who choose public interest jobs. LRAP allows recent graduates the freedom to choose public interest work. More importantly, these lawyers help disadvantaged clients in need of first-rate representation for their critical legal needs. LRAP also benefits the Law School by helping to attract highly qualified applicants who plan to work for the public interest when they graduate.
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