Student Loans and College Costs

The basics

In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 in Biden v. Nebraska that the Education Secretary lacked authority to cancel up to $20,000 in student debt per borrower, a plan estimated at up to $400 billion¹.

The prior administration then created an income-based repayment plan called SAVE. Courts blocked it after lawsuits by Republican-led states. In December 2025 the current administration agreed to settle with Missouri and end the plan, and in March 2026 a federal appeals court ordered that settlement entered as the final judgment²⁴. More than 7 million borrowers were still enrolled in SAVE and must move to another plan²⁴.

The 2025 federal budget and tax law changed student loans starting July 1, 2026³⁴. It ended Grad PLUS loans for new borrowers, capped graduate loans at $20,500 a year and $100,000 total and professional school loans at $50,000 a year and $200,000 total, and capped Parent PLUS loans at $20,000 a year and $65,000 total per student³. New borrowers choose between a fixed-payment plan and a new income-based Repayment Assistance Plan, with payments of about 1% to 10% of income and forgiveness after 30 years of payments³⁴.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness, created by Congress in 2007, cancels the remaining balance on federal Direct Loans for people who make 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full-time for government or qualifying nonprofits⁹. A 2025 Education Department rule would have let the department drop employers it found had a "substantial illegal purpose"¹⁰. On June 30, 2026, federal judges in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts struck the rule down⁵. The department appealed both rulings in August 2026, and the appeals were still pending as of September 2026¹¹.

The 2024 Democratic platform highlighted $167 billion in targeted loan cancellation and the SAVE plan⁷. The 2024 Republican platform pledged to drive down tuition and support more affordable alternatives to a four-year degree⁸.

Key terms

Income-driven repayment

Loan plans that set monthly payments as a share of income, with any remaining balance forgiven after a set number of years³⁴.

Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)

A new income-based plan available from July 1, 2026, with payments of about 1% to 10% of income and forgiveness after 30 years³⁴.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)

A federal program that forgives remaining Direct Loans for qualifying government and nonprofit workers after 120 qualifying monthly payments, or about 10 years⁹.

Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS

Federal loans for graduate students and for parents of undergraduates; Grad PLUS closed to new borrowers and Parent PLUS was capped in 2026³.

Tuition freeze

A rule that stops public colleges from raising tuition and fees for a set period; Texas has one through 2026 to 2027⁶.

In Texas

The Texas Governor has directed all public two-year and four-year colleges not to raise undergraduate tuition or fees, a freeze in place since 2023 and extended through the 2026 to 2027 school year on May 27, 2026⁶. The Legislature added $328 million for state student financial aid in its most recent session⁶.

Federal loan limits, repayment plans, and forgiveness programs are set in Washington and apply the same way to Texas borrowers³. The state's main levers are funding for public colleges and state financial aid, and the tuition freeze⁶.

How people see it

The strongest case for each view, in terms its supporters would recognize. We don't pick a side.

Questions to ask a candidate

• Should the federal government forgive any student debt, and if so, for whom?
• Were the 2025 limits on graduate and parent borrowing the right call?
• Should Public Service Loan Forgiveness stay open to all qualifying nonprofits?
• Should Texas keep freezing tuition at public colleges, and how should it be paid for?