August 19, 2025

Education Today: Big Help or Heavy Lift?

49 minutes

New federal student loan changes could transform how Rhode Islanders pay for college, graduate school, and professional degrees — while proposed shifts at the U.S. Department of Education could reshape K–12 classrooms. From borrowing caps to changes in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) to the future of federal education support, what’s at stake for students and families across the state?

On Law 401: Legal Issues Decoded, co-hosts Nicole Dyszlewski and Michael Donnelly-Boylen talk with U.S. Senator Jack Reed about the legal, financial, and policy impacts of these changes

— and how they might affect education from kindergarten through professional school.

Topics include:

Key changes to federal student loan programs and who they affect

How new rules could alter student loan forgiveness for public-interest careers

Why “professional” programs face different rules — and who’s included

What tighter loan caps and loss of subsidized loans mean for working families

Possible effects of downsizing the U.S. Department of Education

How Rhode Islanders can respond through legal and political channels

Listen and subscribe to Law 401: Legal Issues Decoded — legal conversations made accessible. Resources mentioned in this episode:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF):

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation

U.S. Department of Education on restoring PSLF: https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-

release/us-department-of-education-concludes-negotiated-rulemaking-session-restore-

public-service-loan-forgiveness

White House Presidential Action on PSLF: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-

actions/2025/03/restoring-public-service-loan-forgiveness/

RWU Law’s Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance Program (PILRAP):

https://law.rwu.edu/admission/financing-your-legal-education/public-interest-loan-

repayment-assistance-program-pilrap

Starting with this episode, Law 401 will now release weekly — new episodes every Tuesday.

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By Roger Williams University School of Law