The Brief

Republicans on the House education committee publicly unveiled their plan Tuesday to remake the federal student loan system while also cutting more than $330 billion in federal spending to help offset the cost of extending President Trump's tax cuts.

The Republican proposal includes eliminating previous income-contingent loan repayment options and replacing them with one "Repayment Assistance Plan." It also ends the Grad PLUS loan program, sets strict limits on Parent PLUS loans and envisions a new system whereby colleges and universities are forced to reimburse the federal government for a share of the debt when their students fail to repay their loans.

During the plan's unveiling Tuesday — what is known as a committee "markup" — the education committee's Republican chairman, Rep. Tim Walberg of Michigan, said, "If there is any consensus when it comes to student loans, it's that the current system is effectively broken and littered with incentives that push tuition prices upward. Schools have no reason to lower costs or ensure degrees align with employer needs, all while students and taxpayers pay the price."

The committee's ranking member, Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, made clear, though, that there's no consensus on Republicans' proposed remedy: "This current reconciliation plan would increase costs for colleges and students, limit students' access to quality programs … and then take the so-called 'savings' to pay for more tax cuts for the wealthy and the well-connected."

Because the proposal is part of a reconciliation package, Republicans only need a simple majority in the Senate — and a unified front in the House — to pass it.

In other words, it's no sure thing, but it's as close to a sure thing as Congress gets these days.

Here's a quick run-through of some of the key changes Republicans outlined:

Shrinking loan repayment options to a two-plan system

For new borrowers taking out federal student loans after July 1, 2026, gone will be the Biden administration's generous SAVE Plan, as well as a host of previous repayment plans including Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE).

In their place will be two options: 1) a "Standard Repayment Plan" with fixed monthly payments across a range of 10 to 25 years and 2) a "Repayment Assistance Plan" that bases monthly payments on a borrower's total adjusted gross income. The plan also waives unpaid interest that isn't covered by the monthly payment, according to a Republican fact sheet.

The maximum term of this new income-based repayment plan will take some getting used to for borrowers: While previous plans offered forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, the Repayment Assistance Plan comes with a maximum repayment term of 360 payments — or 30 years.

For borrowers who took out loans before July 1, 2026, they will have access to an updated version of the old Income-Based Repayment plan.

Cuts to Pell Grants

Republicans want to make a few significant changes to the Pell Grant program for low-income students. They proposed increasing the definition of full-time college attendance, which is required for students to receive the maximum Pell amount, to 30 credit hours per year. They also plan to require that Pell students be enrolled at least halftime, or 15 credit hours per year, to qualify for any Pell award at all.

These changes, according to an analysis by the National College Attainment Network, would result in a significant cut in aid for many Pell recipients.

There is one way Republicans want to expand access to Pell: by opening the grants up to students who attend short-term workforce-training programs.

Changes coming to Grad PLUS, Parent PLUS and subsidized loans for undergraduates

After July 1, 2026, Republicans plan to end the Grad PLUS loan program for graduate school borrowers as well as subsidized loans for undergraduate borrowers, where the government covers interest on the loans while the borrower is still enrolled in school.

Republicans also want to cap the total amount a student can borrow each year based on "the median cost of attendance for students enrolled in the same program of study nationally," according to the Republican fact sheet.

In other words, if a student wants to attend a program with an unusually high cost relative to other schools nationwide, federal loans might not cover the full bill.

There would also be new borrowing caps, or "aggregate limits," for undergraduates ($50,000), graduate students ($100,000) and professional programs ($150,000).

The Parent PLUS loan program would see big changes too. Parent PLUS has been controversial because it comes with a higher interest rate than traditional federal loans and has led to nagging debts for many older borrowers, but it has also been an important tool for many families of color who lack generational wealth to put their children through college.

Republicans want an aggregate limit of $50,000 on Parent PLUS borrowing. What's more, they will require students to take out the maximum available unsubsidized loans before families can fill in the remaining gap with Parent PLUS.

"Skin-in-the-game accountability" for colleges

One novel proposal in Republicans' reconciliation package would change the fundamental terms colleges and universities agree to when they participate in the federal loan program.

It would require schools to reimburse the federal government "for a percentage" of the loans their students fail to repay, calculating that percentage "based on the total price the institution charges students for a program of study and the value-added earnings of students after they graduate or, in the case of students who do not graduate, the completion rate of the institution or program."

The change would also include penalties to schools for late or missed payments that could culminate in a college losing access to the federal student loan program altogether.

While Republicans push for new accountability from schools, they are also ending older provisions to protect borrowers when their school suddenly closes or if they believe they were enticed to enroll with false promises about potential work or earnings.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Calbright College seemed doomed from the start. Just months after enrolling its first students in 2019, the online community college was under fire from faculty groups, and the state Assembly had agreed to shut it down. It had “poor management,” “ineffective and inappropriate hiring,” and “inadequate” support for students, a 2021 state audit found.

Yet Calbright College managed not only to soldier on but to grow.

Now it may be California’s fastest-growing community college, based on tentative enrollment data comparing fall 2024 to fall 2025.

By the end of its first academic year in October 2020, just 12 students had finished their course of study out of more than 900 who had enrolled, the audit said. Now, Calbright has over 6,000 students and a much higher rate of completion, according to the most recent data.

About 13% of students finish their studies in a reasonable amount of time, which for Calbright’s short-term certificate programs is usually about a year or less, according to Binh Thuy Do, the school’s vice president of research and development. Those statistics put Calbright College roughly on par with the completion rates at the state's other 115 community colleges.

But comparing Calbright, which is completely online, to any traditional brick-and-mortar school is challenging not only because it lacks a physical campus but also because it uses a significantly different education model.

Based on what is known as competency-based education, Calbright courses are designed so that students can pass whenever they prove they know the material, whether that takes weeks or years. Calbright students can enroll at any time and study whenever they want by watching pre-recorded lectures or setting up meetings with professors. The college charges no tuition and uses only free online textbooks — a key difference from traditional community colleges, which usually operate on a semester basis and are only free for low-income students.

“The way that it’s approaching higher ed and the students they serve, it’s the model of the future,” said Su Jin Jez, the CEO of the research organization California Competes. Western Governors University, Arizona State University and Southern New Hampshire University — which also offer similar kinds of flexible, online courses — have grown rapidly in recent years to become some of the largest universities in the country.

In his initial budget proposal for the 2026–27 fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed more than tripling Calbright’s annual budget from $15 million per year to $53 million. Faculty groups say California's community colleges are already offering similar courses to Calbright’s and that the money could be better spent on existing initiatives.

How different is Calbright?

When Gov. Jerry Brown formed Calbright in 2018, it was explicitly designed to be different from existing community colleges. It only offers short-term, career-oriented certificate programs, rather than associate degrees. The idea was to attract students who don’t usually access traditional higher education, often because of its cost. Calbright is specifically tasked with serving the millions of adults over 25 who don’t already have a college degree. Early on, the college decided to be completely free, though its statute allows it to charge tuition like the rest of California’s community colleges.

In some sense, Calbright has already succeeded in its mandate. Almost all of Calbright’s more than 6,000 students are over the age of 25, and 44% are over the age of 40.

Deb Hemingway is 61 and a Calbright College student. Two years ago she was searching online for programs that could help her advance in her career or get a new job, when she saw a sponsored ad on Google for Calbright. “I thought it was a scam,” she said. “I thought, ‘This can’t be free.’”

Hemingway enrolled in the data analysis program, one of the most popular courses. She kept her day job in retail merchandising, helping stores stay up-to-date on their inventory, and worked on the course primarily on weekends. She got her certificate in 10 months and is now enrolled in another program focused on human resources.

Although students can complete their courses on their own schedule for up to three years, Calbright says many of its programs can be finished in less than a year. In reality, most students drop out, and those that remain often struggle to manage school along with the demands of a full- or part-time job and family obligations, such as kids or aging parents.

“My children are grown. There’s no kids around, so it’s just me,” Hemingway said. “But just because it’s just me doesn’t mean I don’t have stressors in my life.” The rising price of food, gas, and other daily expenses — plus the pressures of her full-time job — made it difficult to study each week, she said.

Hemingway already has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, which is typical for many Calbright students but rare for most community college students.

Calbright under scrutiny, again and again

In the early years, Calbright always seemed on the brink of getting shut down or defunded by the Legislature. In 2020, the Assembly passed a budget that stripped the school of its funding. In 2021 and 2022, the Assembly passed bills to eliminate it, only for the Senate or the governor to quash the efforts. Legislative opposition has waned in recent years, though faculty groups still speak out against it.

“Our argument is the same that it’s been since 2018 — this just isn’t a necessary college,” said Stephanie Goldman, executive director of the Faculty Association of California Community Colleges. The association, along with a group representing independent faculty unions, has asked the Legislature to oppose increased funding for Calbright.

A March 5 report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office found that Calbright is still falling short of its original purpose. “The evidence is mixed as to how well the college is reaching its target population of working adults not already accessing higher education,” states the report, which assesses the governor’s budget requests. “While the college is primarily enrolling working‑age students, many of these students already have bachelor’s degrees. Furthermore, it is difficult to assess student outcomes. Although Calbright collects data on completion rates, employment, and earnings, its metrics are not comparable to those reported by other community colleges.”

The office recommended significant changes to the governor’s proposal for Calbright, including policies that would likely result in less funding. Anticipating that the governor’s full proposal may not happen, Calbright already plans to lay off 93 employees.

For Jez, with California Competes, the Legislative Analyst’s Office is thinking too narrowly about Calbright. “Are we meeting a state need? That’s what we need to be focused on,” she said. “What do Californians need and how do we deliver it?”

A multimillion-dollar experiment

As K-12 enrollment declines and broader questions emerge about the purpose of college degrees, California’s other community colleges are increasingly targeting the same population of working adults that Calbright was designed to serve.

Almost half of all community college classes are online now, and despite pushback from some faculty, a few brick-and-mortar community colleges are beginning to offer a limited number of flexible, competency-based classes.

But Calbright is costly, spending more per student than the average community college.

“Questions also remain around Calbright’s cost‑effectiveness,” the Legislative Analyst’s Office recent report stated. “In 2024–25, we estimate that Calbright spent about $53,000 per award completed, compared to about $35,000 across other community colleges.”

The annual operating budget of Calbright is about $50 million, said Sarah Jimenez, a spokesperson for the college, which is roughly the same as the budget of Gavilan Joint Community College District in Gilroy. For comparison, the Gavilan district had nearly 500 faculty and staff in the fall, serving about 7,200 students, plus the costs of maintaining all of its buildings. Calbright has fewer than 200 faculty and staff for its roughly 6,000 online students.

As the college grows, Calbright “continues to explore” charging tuition at a similar rate to other local community colleges, said Jimenez. But she added that “moving to a fee model too swiftly” could create “barriers for many of our learners.”

Do, the college’s research and development vice president, said the high annual budget stems from technology demands and startup costs, which are inherent in any new college. “The $50 million annual budget is not just the operating costs. It is the administrative and infrastructure build that we’ve had to do.” In addition to supporting its own students, Do said Calbright also conducts research and development on behalf of the entire community college system.

Hemingway said her education was well worth the state’s investment. Her data analysis certificate has been helpful, she said, even if it hasn’t led to a new job or a promotion just yet. A friend recently asked her to do some consulting on the side; at work, she said she’s been able to give her boss more input about how the company can grow.

One of her salary goals is to make at least $150,000 annually, she said, but later revised her answer. “The sky is the limit.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Like many vendors along the El Salvador Corridor in Pico Union, Maria Godoy sells goods alongside others on the sidewalk of Vermont Avenue between 11th and 12th streets. Being together offers some sense of solidarity, she said, but fear still lingers.

“With the other vendors, I feel more supported because we’re all together, but there’s also fear that at any moment ICE could come bother us,” Godoy said. “They might come back, so we’re always on alert.”

Some vendors have their papers — permanent resident cards — while others are undocumented. Whatever their status, the vendors are worried about the next immigration sweep that could come through their corner of the world.

Godoy said vendors have relied on a WhatsApp group text maintained by the Koreatown chapter of the LA Tenants Union’s Koreatown and the rapid response group Union del Barrio. The messaging services comes alive when there is ICE activity to warn people in the community.

The corridor, especially the sidewalk along Vermont Avenue where most vendors set up tents, serves a mix of local residents and visitors who come specifically for lunch, drawn by pupusas, raspados, fruit, and other goods.

In early November, federal agents carried out a major immigration raid, detaining several vendors and prompting others to quickly pack up and flee. Videos shared on social media showed people abandoning their stands as officers moved through the streets.

The disruption, vendors say, continues to hang over the street and hurts business.

Street vendor Beatriz arrived in Los Angeles from El Salvador. She sells a variety of fruits and vegetables, including strawberries, mangoes, and pineapples, along 12th street and Vermont Avenue also known as the El Salvador Corridor.

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Marina Peña

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The LA Local

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For more than a decade, Godoy has sold vitamins, cold medicines and arthritis creams along the corridor, many of them products from Mexico and Central America that are hard to find elsewhere in Los Angeles.

But the 52‑year‑old vendor said business has sharply declined in recent months. Her sales, she estimates, have dropped about 60 percent since August.

“The situation is really bad. The economy has gone down a lot and for those of us who run small businesses, sales have dropped just too much. We used to have a lot of tourists who would come, but not anymore,” Godoy said. “This is all we have to survive. We have to pay rent, bills, we always pay taxes, and now we’re not making enough to pay those taxes. Now we’re working and just able to cover the rent.”

The cost of buying items has also increased, Godoy said, but in the current economy she can’t pass those additional costs on to customers.

“People get used to the prices and they notice when something goes up, so we can’t always charge them more because they won’t buy it,” she said.

The only products for which her sales have remained steady are cold and flu medicines.

Another woman, who The LA Local is not naming because she is undocumented, arrived in Los Angeles about a year and a half ago from El Salvador. The single mother began selling fruit along the corridor in December and the possibility of an immigration raid affects her daily work, she said.

She explained how vendors have organized themselves to protect one another.

“Among ourselves, vendors, we are taking care of each other. We have made ways to protect ourselves. If we see something, we warn each other. If something happens, we’re ready to  get together and link arms so that if they take one, they take all of us. If they see a van, someone already warns,” she said.

She sells mangoes, strawberries, pineapples, oranges, mandarins, coconuts, tomatoes and honey — items locals continue to seek out, especially in warm weather — but like Godoy, she said that “sales are slow because people are afraid to go out.”

Lorena Lopez, another vendor, sells ceviche made with clams, shrimp, and octopus along the corridor. Before that, the 45-year-old sold pupusas and yuca. She has been working there since 2013 and said that having many vendors around has both upsides and drawbacks.

The El Salvador Corridor along Vermont Ave. in the Pico Union neighborhood on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

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Gary Coronado

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“If I feel like people are looking out for me, I really feel at ease. It helps a lot and makes me feel safer,” Lopez said. “When there aren’t many vendors here, there are fewer customers. It feels better when more vendors are around, watching out for each other. But at the same time, with more of us here, there’s more competition for customers.”

To help small businesses recover from the economic impact, Los Angeles County started the Small Business Resiliency Fund. The program, run by the Department of Economic Opportunity, gives up to $5,000 in direct financial help to businesses affected by immigration enforcement, covering rent, payroll, and other expenses.

They have already distributed more than $5.1 million in grants to 1,239 small businesses affected by immigration enforcement. The businesses range from storefronts to home-based businesses and sidewalk vendors.

The vendors The LA Local spoke to said they haven’t yet applied for these funds.

Still, with sales down, Godoy said many vendors like her are hoping for support that matches their needs on the ground.

“We would need help with direct resources because right now we’re stuck in the same place with no sales,” she said. “We can’t get a storefront because there aren’t enough sales, so we’re out here on the street. I think people lack empathy and at the same time they’re afraid, and the economy is also bad. When gas goes up, everything goes up.”

The Trump administration invoked emergency powers under the Defense Production Act Friday, ordering the restart of the Santa Ynez offshore oil platform and pipeline along the Santa Barbara County coast that was shuttered after a spill released thousands of barrels of crude into the Pacific 11 years ago.

The move, which comes in response to skyrocketing fuel prices in the wake of the Iran conflict, brought an immediate threat to sue by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The order also marks the most aggressive federal intervention yet in a yearslong dispute. On one side is the Trump administration and Sable Offshore Corp., a Houston-based startup that has been trying to restart the pipeline. On the other are California officials and environmental groups who oppose the effort.

Sable, which bought the system from ExxonMobil in 2024, has told investors that production could increase from about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to more than 50,000 if the system restarts, sending oil to refineries in Los Angeles, Bakersfield and the Bay Area. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.

The ruptured pipeline released crude oil onto beaches north of Goleta in May 2015, killing hundreds of birds and marine mammals and triggering one of the worst California coastal oil spills in decades.

Sable was blocked from restarting operations by court orders requiring approval from California regulators — a requirement the Trump administration has tried to override.

On Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement that the Trump Administration “remains committed to putting all Americans and their energy security first. Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness.”

Newsom said, however, that California will sue the Trump administration over the move.

“Donald Trump started a war, admitted it would spike gas prices nationwide, and told Americans it was a small price to pay,” Newsom said. “Now he's using this crisis of his own making to attempt what he’s wanted to do for years: open California’s coast for his oil industry friends so they can poison our beaches.”

“The Trump administration and Sable are defying multiple court orders, and we will see them back in court,” Newsom said.

The Energy Department did not immediately provide CalMatters with a copy of the order. A March 3 legal opinion from the Justice Department concluded that a federal order under the Defense Production Act of 1950 could preempt state law in the Sable case. It also said such an order could override a 2020 federal consent decree stemming from the 2015 Refugio spill that requires approval from the California State Fire Marshal before the pipeline can restart.

Earlier Friday, the White House issued an executive order expanding and clarifying the energy secretary’s authority to act under the Defense Production Act.

Environmental groups challenging the legality of Sable’s plans condemned the move.

“This is a revolting power grab by an extremist president,” said Talia Nimmer, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, which has challenged the pipeline restart in state and federal court. “Trump is misusing this Cold War-era law just to help a Texas oil company skirt vital state laws that protect our coastline, and Californians will pay the price.”

Nimmer said forcing the pipelines to restart would not lower gasoline prices but would expose coastal wildlife to the risk of another spill. Allowing the federal government to override state law so an oil company can restart the pipelines, she said, would set a dangerous precedent. The Trump administration has long sought to expand offshore oil leasing along the West Coast, which has drawn fierce opposition in California.

In December, federal officials sought to shift authority over the pipeline from California regulators to Washington when the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ruled that the infrastructure qualifies as an interstate pipeline. It issued an emergency permit approving a restart plan.

Environmental groups and the state of California challenged that move and are awaiting a ruling in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

A representative for Attorney General Rob Bonta could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday. After the Justice Department released its memo outlining the legal basis for the move, Bonta spokesperson Christine Lee said the state was reviewing that development.

“The Trump Administration’s desire to put oil and gas interests over our communities and a clean environment continues unabated,” Lee said, on Tuesday. “We are reviewing this development and cannot comment on legal strategy.”

Last month, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge ordered the pipeline to remain shut down, ruling that the Trump administration’s earlier intervention was not enough to override an injunction requiring Sable to obtain state approvals before restarting.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.