With one million defaults on student loans every year, and $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt, it's clear the US is in desperate need of innovative funding models in higher education. Income Share Agreements, or ISAs, stand to provide a promising alternative to high-risk student loans, as they better align the interests of students, schools, and lenders. In an ISA, students pay no tuition upfront, only repaying the education provider once employed--in essence, funding today's educational opportunities for a fixed percentage of tomorrow's income, within a set window of time. In other words, an ISA is an equity investment, whereas a student loan is a debt burden. ISAs thus serve as a viable choice for students seeking to finance their education, and in many cases, increase access to higher education by helping students afford programs not eligible for federal financial aid. Despite the potential of the ISA model, a lack of regulatory clarity has limited its adoption. To reach that potential, the ISA market needs guardrails that both protect students and encourage investment in the space. In this policy brief, the authors provide an overview of ISAs and examples of ISAs currently in operation. They then explore guardrails that are essential to effective ISA legislation and analyze the ramifications of these provisions for students, education providers, and other ISA market participants. In so doing, the authors hope to empower policymakers as they unlock the power of a financing tool that has the potential to revolutionize higher education. [Contributions to this report were made by Alana Dunagan.]