On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, Governor Tony Evers signed Executive Order 67 to create a Task Force on Student Debt. The Task Force will include:
- Secretary of the Dept. of Financial Institutions (chair), or designee;
- Governor, or designee;
- Executive Director, Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board, or designee;
- Sec. of the Dept. of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, or designee;
- State Superintendent of DPI, or designee;
- Sec. of the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, or designee;
- President of the UW System, or designee;
- President of the WI Technical College System, or designee;
- President of the WI Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, or designee;
- Two members of the Assembly, one from each party;
- Two members of the Senate, one from each party;
- Representative from the WI Tribal Nation;
- Individuals appointed by the Governor which may include business community, academic community, financial services industry, student loan borrowers, and parents of student loan borrowers.
According to the order, the Task Force will be assigned with:
- Assessing the causes of student debt and the challenges student debt creates for Wisconsinites, their families, and the state economy.
- Evaluating the effectiveness of current policies relating to student debt.
- Researching best practices from industry, academia, and other states on reducing the burden of student debt.
- Providing recommendations on:
- How the state can best address the student debt crisis;
- Improving the State’s financial literacy education;
- Strategies for borrowers to help reduce loan and education-related defaults;
- Strategies aimed at the most vulnerable populations struggling with student debt;
- The State’s role in preventing abusive practices from loan companies;
- Improving data collection;
- The State’s role in maintaining affordable and high-quality higher education institutions in the State;
- Other programmatic and budgetary recommendations.