California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Assemblymember Luz Rivas (D-Arleta) have announced that their sponsored bill, Assembly Bill 1313, passed the Committee on Higher Education. The bill prohibits postsecondary schools from withholding transcripts from students who owe the schools a debt. The bill, which ensures that students are not handcuffed in pursuing educational and career opportunities by the practices of certain schools and colleges, will now be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
“Students with debt are currently in a Catch-22. They can’t access their transcripts if they have school debt, which limits opportunities that would help them address the debt,” said Attorney General Becerra. “We are grateful to Assemblymember Rivas for introducing AB 1313 to help protect students from unfair debt collection practices. No one should be denied a chance to move forward simply because of their financial situation.”