![]() “Basically, in most professions which require a state license, there are and can be many other ways a state can monitor professional or moral conduct. “I remember when my issue first came to light, medical doctors and other professional licensed individuals were in great disbelief that an agency could revoke a license,” he said. Reached Thursday, Santulli, who now works as a mediator, said the new bill is a step in the right direction. Santulli, who graduated from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in 1998, said at the time that he had about $67,000 in outstanding debt. Texas revoked his license in 2009 after he failed to repay his student loans and other debts. Among the lawyers who have found themselves shut out due to their inability to repay their loans is former Houston attorney Frank Santulli III. California, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts and Georgia are among the states that currently allow the seizure of professional licenses. That count includes numerous professions, including lawyers, teachers, nurses, real estate brokers and barbers, among others. Through public record requests, the Times identified 8,700 cases in which people lost their licenses or were suspended, but noted the actual number was likely much larger. Most state agencies don’t track or report the number of professional licenses revoked due to student loan defaults, according to the The New York Times. 2 percent to a high of 4.8 percent in 2014. But among those 23 standalone schools, the rates of those who defaulted over the course of two years ranged from a low of. Default rates from law schools attached to larger universities are included in the data from the entire campus. Department of Education that cover just law students. Default rates among lawyers are difficult to ascertain because only standalone law schools report figures to the U.S. It’s unclear how many attorneys have lost their law licenses due to student loan defaults. ![]() ![]() Each week, Karen examines the transformation of legal education, spotlights innovative programs and breaks down the latest law school news. ![]() ➤➤ Want more reporting on trends in legal education? Sign up here for Ahead of the Curve by Karen Sloan, a new email briefing from Law.com. “These policies don’t make sense, because they make it even harder for people to put food on the table and get out of debt.” Rubio called the license revocations a “Catch-22” that prevents people from being able to work and pay off their loans. “State governments punishing people struggling with student loans by taking away drivers’ and professional licenses is wrong,” Warren said in an announcement of the bill. Should the bill pass, after two years states would no longer be able to revoke professional licenses due to loan defaults, and defaulters could file for injunctive relief should states not comply. The bill, dubbed the Protecting Job Opportunities for Borrowers Act, could be a lifeline for lawyers struggling to pay back their loans who now risk losing their ability to practice law. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Marco Rubio on Thursday introduced a bill that would prohibit states from suspending professional licenses and driver’s licenses of those who fail to pay their federal student loans. Nineteen states currently allow government agencies to revoke the professional licenses-including law licenses-of student loan defaulters.
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