A provision in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that makes it extremely difficult to discharge student loan debt needs to go, the American Bar Association signaled Tuesday, Reuters reported. The ABA’s House of Delegates, which sets policy for the organization, overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling on the national lawyer group to lobby Congress to remove the “undue hardship” standard from the bankruptcy code and treat educational debt the same as other forms of unsecured debt. Currently, the undue hardship standard is so hard to meet in court that most borrowers struggling with educational debt don’t even try, said Aaron Sohaski, director of student debt and financial wellness in the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division. “While I recognize that is not impossible to discharge student debt in bankruptcy, it remains an unnecessary challenge on lawyers shouldering high debt loads,” he said. The House of Delegates approved the resolution in a vote of 251 to 71 during the final day of the ABA’s annual meeting, and no one spoke in opposition. It’s the second time this year that the ABA has taken a position on student debt. In February, the House of Delegates passed a resolution backing student loan forgiveness and measures that would make it easier for student loan borrowers to make their monthly payments. Law school graduates leave with an average $138,500 in educational loan debt, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Education. Chris Jennison, the immediate past speaker of the ABA’s Young Lawyers Division, on Tuesday cited the results of a 2020 survey of ABA members early in their legal careers in which a quarter of the respondents said they have education debt loads of $200,000 or more. That survey also found that many young lawyers are delaying major life decisions such as getting married or buying a home because of their student loan debt.
