,,ii #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bbbd ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,december #ac1 #bjag ,mr4 ,donnelly 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,johnson1 and ,ms4 ,klobuchar7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish best practices for teaching financial literacy1 and to establish an annual estimate of student borrowing costs4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,empowering ,student ,borrowers ,act4 #b4 ,best practices for teaching financial literacy ,part ,c of title ,i of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajae et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #ach4 ,best practices for teaching financial literacy 7a7 ,best practices 7#a7 ,in general ,after soliciting public comments and consulting with and receiving input from relevant parties1 including a diverse set of institutions of higher education and other parties1 the ,secretary shall1 by not later than #a year after the date of enactment of the ,empowering ,student ,borrowers ,act1 establish best practices for institutions of higher education regarding methods to-- 7,a7 teach financial literacy skills2 and 7,b7 provide useful and necessary information to assist students at institutions of higher education when making financial decisions related to student borrowing4 7#b7 ,best practices ,the best practices described in paragraph 7#a7 shall include the following3 7,a7 ,methods to ensure that students have a clear sense of the students' total borrowing obligations1 including monthly payments1 and repayment options4 7,b7 ,the most effective ways to engage students in financial literacy education1 including frequency and timing of communication with students4 7,c7 ,information on how to target different student populations1 including part-time students1 first-time students1 and other nontraditional students4 7,d7 ,ways to clearly communicate the importance of graduating on a student's ability to repay student loans4 7b7 ,maintenance of best practices ,the ,secretary shall maintain and periodically update the best practices information required under subsection 7a7 and make the best practices available to the public4 4 #c4 ,annual estimate of student loan borrowing costs ,section #dhe of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajib7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7n7 ,annual estimate of student loan borrowing costs 7#a7 ,in general ,beginning on ,july #a1 #bjai1 each eligible institution shall provide a cost estimate described in paragraph 7#b7 to each enrolled student who receives an education loan to attend the institution1 not later than #cj days before the first day of each academic year beginning after the academic year for which the student first received such a loan to attend such institution4 7#b7 ,contents of estimate ,the estimate under paragraph 7#a7 shall contain the following information3 7,a7 ,cumulative balances and monthly payments ,a notice to the student of-- 7i7 the cumulative balance of education loans owed by the student as of the date of the notice2 and 7ii7 projected monthly payment amounts based on the cumulative balances described in clause 7i71 assuming a standard repayment schedule4 7,b7 ,interest rates ,the interest rate of each education loan1 except that interest rates for a private education loan may be based on average private education loan interest rates if the institution cannot reasonably determine the actual interest rate of such loan4 7,c7 ,disclaimer ,a clear and conspicuous notice stating that any information provided under paragraph 7#a7 is an estimate1 accurate to the best of the institution's knowledge1 and that an interest rate provided under subparagraph 7,b7-- 7i7 in the case of a loan described in paragraph 7#f77;,a77i71 is the applicable rate of interest of such loan2 7ii7 in the case of a private education loan1 may be based on average private education loan interest rates2 and 7iii7 does not include private education loans of which the institution is not aware4 7#c7 ,form of estimate ,the estimate under paragraph 7#a7 shall be-- 7,a7 provided to the student in hard copy format on the letterhead of the institution1 by electronic mail or by another method the ,secretary may prescribe2 and 7,b7 delivered to the student separately from any other disclosures required under this ,act4 7#d7 ,limitation of liability ,an institution that provides the estimate under paragraph 7#a7 in good faith shall not be liable to any person for inaccuracies contained in such estimate4 7#e7 ,student debt letter template ,not later than ,july #a1 #bjah1 and as necessary thereafter1 the ,secretary shall provide the following to eligible institutions3 7,a7 ,examples of the information required under subparagraphs 7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c7 of paragraph 7#b74 7,b7 ,technical assistance on how to comply with the requirements of this subsection4 7,c7 ,preliminary approvals in a timely manner of estimate formats proposed for use by an institution1 at the request of the institution4 7,d7 ,the formula 7which shall take into consideration a student's past borrowing rates and other criteria the ,secretary may determine7 to be used in making the projections under clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 of paragraph 7#b77;,a7 with respect to loans described in paragraph 7#f77;,a77i74 7,e7 ,encryption technology software to enable institutions to provide the estimate under paragraph 7#b7 to students in a secure format for institutions that choose to provide the estimate to students in an electronic format4 7#f7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,education loan ,the term education loan means-- 7i7 a loan made under part ,d 7other than a ,federal ,direct ,consolidation ,loan or a ,federal ,direct ,,plus loan made on behalf of a student72 7ii7 a loan made under a ,state-sponsored loan program for the purpose of paying a student's cost of attendance at an institution of higher education2 and 7iii7 a private education loan with respect to which the institution should reasonably be aware4 7,b7 ,private education loan ,the term private education loan has the meaning given the term in section #adj of the ,truth in ,lending ,act4 7,c7 ,student ,the term student1 when used with respect to an eligible institution1 does not include any student who has transferred to the institution less than #fj days before the first day of the academic year for which an estimate would be provided4 4 #d4 ,annual provision of information by the ,secretary of ,education ,not later than ,april #a1 #bjai1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,education shall provide to each institution 7as defined in section #ajb of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajjb77 the following information3 7#a7 ,the amount of any loans made under part ,d of title ,,iv of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajhg;a et seq47 7other than a ,federal ,direct ,consolidation ,loan or a ,federal ,direct ,,plus loan made on behalf of a student7 expected to be disbursed to any borrower enrolled in that institution for the next academic year4 7#b7 ,the projected cumulative balance of such loans1 as determined in accordance with section #dhe7n77#e77;,d7 of such ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajib7n77#e77;,d771 as added by this ,act1 that will be owed by each borrower that is enrolled in the institution after the completion of the borrower's course of study at the institution of higher education4 7#c7 ,the projected monthly payment amounts of such loans1 as determined in accordance with section #dhe7n77#e7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajib7n77#e771 assuming a standard repayment schedule 7as described in section #dee7;d77#a77;,a7 of such ,act 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajhg;e7d77#a77;,a7774