June 25, 2021

 

 

Institute Responds to Passage of Legislation with Racial Justice Implications in NJ Legislature Today

 

NEWARK – The New Jersey Senate and Assembly today both passed important legislation with implications for racial justice. 

The Senate passed S3683, a bill that will require colleges and universities to provide targeted data on student loan outcomes broken down by race, ethnicity, age, family income at time of admission, gender and first-generation status that would help identify where reforms are needed to protect students and borrowers of color. 

“Too many students of color are burdened with insurmountable debt in New Jersey,” said Laura Sullivan, Director of the Economic Justice Program at the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice. “By requiring critical data, this bill is an important piece of the puzzle in ensuring that students of color have access to higher education without a decades-long debt burden.” 

The Senate and Assembly passed A5942/S3999, a bill to authorize the Secretary of State to join the Electronic Registration Information System (ERIC), a multi-state nonprofit organization that allows states to improve their voter rolls and increase voter registration access for voters. Thirty states and the District of Columbia already participate in ERIC.