by Jamil Ragland CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT — A bipartisan group of Connecticut legislators, state officials and advocates is seeking ways to provide relief for the more than 500,000 state residents burdened by student loan debt.
State Rep. Corey Paris, D-Stamford, co-chair of the Relief for Connecticut Borrowers Working Group, said the state had to step in to aid the half million student loan recipients in Connecticut, as the federal government has basically abdicated on the issue.
“We’re trying to not just gather ideas or understand facts and figures around the crisis as it is today, but we’re also working very diligently to try to identify policy matters in which we can continue to grow to help borrowers and working families and students across our state,” he said. “What we almost have to do is to stop the bleeding right now with the crisis as it is across the state of Connecticut. We are the last line of defense.”
According to a report published by the Office of Legislative Research in 2022, there were more than 540,000 state residents who held student debt, totaling $19.3 billion. The average debt for a member of the class of 2020 was $35,853, the 5th highest debt load in the nation.
Cristher Estrada-Perez, executive director of the Student Loan Fund, speaks during a meeting of the Relief for Connecticut Borrowers Working Group on July 29, 2025. Credit: Jamil Ragland / CTNewsJunkie
Cristher Estrada-Perez, executive director of the Student Loan Fund, said the state had faced a student loan debt crisis even before the pandemic, but the fallout from the pandemic, along with policy changes and staffing cuts at the Department of Education had exacerbated the problem.
“We know borrowers who have not been getting answers from their servicers, or from the Department of Education,” she said. ”So we are witnessing over and over again how the goal post gets moved. Borrowers follow the instructions, they do what they’re supposed to do. They enroll in the programs that they’re supposed to enroll in, and then the entire table is shifted on them.”
The state has taken some steps in recent years to address the student loan crisis. In 2023, the General Assembly created the Office of the Student Loan Ombudsperson, which has the independent authority to analyze and monitor laws and policies that impact student loan borrowers at the federal, state, and local level, and to make recommendations.
Last year, the General Assembly expanded the Mary Ann Handley Award program, which allows students to attend the state’s community colleges debt-free by covering the cost gap between tuition and federal financial and private sources.
Connecticut has also set up a student loan reimbursement program, where eligible residents who complete at least 50 hours of volunteer service a year can qualify for up to $20,000 in student loan payment reimbursement.
According to Tim Larson, commissioner of the state Department of Higher Education, only about 1,800 applications have come into the reimbursement program, and less than 600 of those were approved due to eligibility requirements. The program has so far dispersed just under $1.5 million of the $6 million it was appropriated.
Student Loan Ombudsperson Michelle Jarvis-Lettman said she expects that number to grow as loan forbearance programs end in the coming months. She also said that in addition to addressing existing student debt, residents need to be given more information about lower cost options for pursuing higher education.
“I think it’s important to have the conversation about utilizing our state system, our community college system, pushing our students to use that free resource,” she said. “So we really need to come together and make sure we’re all on the same page and aligning up and working together in a cohesive state unit. I think that’s very important because we’re seeing students leaving the state because they can go at a lower cost.”
The group will pursue several goals, including:
- A debt data dashboard that tracks the statewide trends of student loan debt, repayment rates, delinquency, forgiveness, progress, and geographic disparities
- A statewide student loan borrower relief navigator that would fund and deploy trained borrower navigators statewide to help Connecticut residents better understand their options, repayment plans, consolidation of forgiveness programs.
- A pilot Connecticut student loan default prevention program that would partner with employers, schools, and community lenders to identify at-risk borrowers early, and offer emergency microgrants, deferment guidance, and one-time debt relief
- A borrower’s bill of rights.