Gov. Evers creates student debt task force

Student loan debt is the subject of Gov. Tony Evers’ latest executive order.

He signed the measure in Pewaukee Wednesday to form the Governor’s Task Force on Student Debt.

“For too many Wisconsinites additional education or job training is out of reach. We need to address college affordability and ensure that a great education doesn't come at the cost of decades of crippling debt,” said Evers.

The task force will be led by Dept. of Financial Institutions Secretary Kathy Blumenfeld. It will assess student debt and give long-term strategies to reduce that debt, prevent abusive practices by loan companies, and improve financial literacy education.

“Deciding how much debt to take on to go to college is perhaps the first serious financial decision a lot of students make,” said Blumenfeld. “Unfortunately, many don't full consider the ramifications of that debt until it's too late—when they start paying it back.”

Read the full executive order

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Evers said 45 million students in the nation owe $1.6 trillion in student loan debt. According to a study by the Institute for College Access and Success, 64 percent of students in Wisconsin in 2018 had an average loan debt of $31,705.