BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.3.7.4//EN TZID:America/New_York X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/New_York BEGIN:VEVENT UID:760@debtcollective.org DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260616T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260616T183000 DTSTAMP:20260616T153912Z URL:https://debtcollective.org/event/california-borrower-action-ab-2771-th e-bppe-sunset-and-fighting-for-what-you-are-owed/ SUMMARY:California Borrower Action: Fighting for What You Are Owed DESCRIPTION:SPECIAL GUEST: Robyn Smith - NCLC\nRobyn Smith\, a lawyer with National Consumer Law Center will be joining us this evening to talk about your legal rights as a California student loan borrower.\nWere you harmed attending a for-profit college in California? California has a law up for renewal right now and what happens next could determine whether you ever see a dollar back.\nJoin the Debt Collective for a borrower action worksho p on California  AB 2771 and the 2026 sunset review of the Bureau for Pri vate Postsecondary Education (BPPE)\, California's state agency responsibl e for overseeing private colleges and administering the Student Tuition Re covery Fund.\n\nThis is not just an information session. We will walk thro ugh our California coalition strategy together\, assign action items\, and make sure every borrower who shows up leaves knowing exactly what to do n ext.\n\nThis call is open to anyone who attended a for-profit or private s chool in California\, including borrowers who have already had federal loa ns canceled\, borrowers still waiting on Borrower Defense\, Sweet v. McMah on class members\, and borrowers who have never heard of any of these prog rams before today.\n\nPRIVATE &\; FEDERAL LOAN BORROWERS\n\nYou do not have to live in California now. What matters is that you enrolled there.\n Frequently Asked Questions\nWhat is the BPPE?\n\nThe Bureau for Private Po stsecondary Education is California's state-level agency that licenses and regulates private colleges\, including most for-profit schools. If you at tended a private career school\, art school\, culinary school\, photograph y school\, or graduate psychology program in California\, the BPPE almost certainly approved that school to operate.\n\nThe Bureau also oversees the Student Tuition Recovery Fund\, a California state fund that can reimburs e students for financial harm caused by school closures and fraud. It is s eparate from federal Borrower Defense. It is funded by assessments collect ed from students at enrollment. In most cases\, the schools never told you it existed.\n\nWhat is a sunset review?\n\nCalifornia law requires certai n state agencies to go through a periodic review process to prove they sho uld continue to exist. If the legislature does not vote to reauthorize the BPPE through this process\, the Bureau could stop operating.\n\nThe 2026 sunset review of the BPPE is happening right now. A bill called AB 2771 is the vehicle for reauthorization. A joint hearing before four legislative committees is tentatively scheduled for late June or July 2026. That heari ng is where advocates and borrowers can put their stories and their demand s directly on the record.\n\nThis is a narrow window. It will not stay ope n long. We need to act now.\n\nWhy does the sunset review matter to borrow ers?\n\nBecause it is the best opportunity in years to change the rules\, not just comply with them.\n\nThe STRF currently has a four-year filing wi ndow. For most borrowers from schools that closed more than four years ago \, including Brooks Institute (closed 2016)\, ITT Technical Institute (clo sed 2016)\, and Argosy University (closed 2019)\, that window has already passed. Most of those borrowers were never told STRF existed. California l aw required the schools to disclose it. They did not.\n\nThe sunset review is the moment to ask the legislature to fix that. We are asking for an am endment to AB 2771 that would treat a federal Borrower Defense approval\, the Sweet v. McMahon settlement\, or any government designation\, like sch ool group cancelation as a trigger that eliminates the four-year window en tirely. If the federal government has already found your school defrauded you\, California should not turn you away on a technicality the school cre ated.\n\nWhat is the Student Tuition Recovery Fund?\n\nThe STRF is a Calif ornia state fund administered by the BPPE's Office of Student Assistance a nd Relief (OSAR). It was created to reimburse students who lost money when private schools closed or failed to deliver what they promised.\n\nEvery student who attended a BPPE-licensed school paid into this fund at enrollm ent\, at a rate of $0.50 per $1\,000 in tuition. California law required s chools to tell students the fund existed. Most for-profit schools did not. Many borrowers paid into a consumer protection fund for years without eve r knowing it was there.\n\nCurrent eligibility rules limit claims to four years from the qualifying event\, typically the school's closure date. We are organizing to change that.\n\nI already had my federal loans canceled through Borrower Defense or Sweet v. McMahon. Does STRF apply to me?\n\nPo ssibly\, and this is exactly one of the gaps we are organizing to close.\n \nRight now\, the STRF's eligibility framework does not clearly cover borr owers who received federal relief through the Sweet v. McMahon class actio n settlement or through the Department of Education's settlement and compr omise authority\, which is the legal channel used for the Art Institutes a utomatic discharges in 2024. If you got relief through one of those pathwa ys rather than through an individual Borrower Defense approval\, you may c urrently be excluded from STRF\, even though the underlying finding of fra ud is the same.\n\nOur amendment ask explicitly covers all three federal d ischarge authorities: individual Borrower Defense approvals\, closed schoo l and false certification discharges\, and settlement and compromise disch arges. It also covers Sweet class members. If the legislature passes this amendment\, having received federal relief would open the door to STRF\, n ot close it.\n\nWhat can I actually do?\n\nMore than you think. Come to th is call on June 16 and find out what else is in the plan.\n\nWhat is happe ning with federal Borrower Defense right now?\n\nThe federal picture is no t good\, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.\n\nThe One Big Beautif ul Bill Act\, signed July 4\, 2025\, suspended the stronger 2022 Borrower Defense rules until 2035. The official now overseeing all 452\,770 pending federal claims is Nicholas Kent\, who was the for-profit college industry 's chief lobbyist against the Borrower Defense program before he was confi rmed as Under Secretary of Education in August 2025. The industry's trade association joined a federal lawsuit in March 2026 seeking to permanently eliminate the program entirely.\n\nCalifornia's Student Tuition Recovery F und exists precisely because the federal government cannot always be count ed on. That is why the sunset review matters. That is why we are here.\n\n I do not live in California anymore. Can I still participate?\n\nYes. What matters for STRF eligibility is where you were enrolled\, not where you l ive now. If you attended a California-licensed school while living in Cali fornia at the time\, you may qualify regardless of where you are today.\n\ nYou can also participate in the advocacy campaign from anywhere.\n\n  \;\n\nTuesday\, June 16\, 2026 - 5:30PM PST / 8:30PM EST \n\n\n\n\n\n.eve nt__location { display: none\;}\n\n \;\nJoin Our Monthly Borrower Def ense Calls\nStay informed. Get support. Take action.\n\nOur Monthly Borrow er Defense Calls are designed for borrowers navigating fraud\, misconduct\ , and student loan injustice. Each call provides timely updates on the Bor rower Defense landscape\, current litigation\, and policy developments—a longside practical guidance on asserting your rights and filing claims.\n\ nThese calls are both educational and action-oriented. You will have space to ask questions\, learn from others with similar experiences\, and conne ct with a community working collectively to challenge predatory student le nding.\n\nThroughout the year\, we will also host guest speakers from part ner organizations\, including advocates working in policy\, legal aid\, an d borrower defense support\, to share expertise\, updates\, and opportunit ies for coordinated action.\n\nWhether you are just getting started or hav e an open case\, these calls are for you.\n\nMore Events Here ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://wordpress-cdn-prod.debtcollective.org/wp -content/uploads/2026/01/15232303/DebtCollective_StudentLoanBorrowerDC_Wid eEdit-14.png CATEGORIES:Event END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR