Total approved student debt relief reached nearly $189 billion for 5.3 million borrowers
The Biden-Harris Administration today announced its latest round of student loan forgiveness, approving more than $600 million for 4,550 borrowers through the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan and 4,100 defense approvals of individual borrowers. The administration is leaving office after approving a cumulative $188.8 billion in forgiveness for 5.3 million borrowers through 33 executive actions. The U.S. Department of Education (Department) also announced today that it has completed adjusting the number of income-based repayment payments and that borrowers will now be able to see their income-based repayment meters when They will log into their account on StudentAid.gov. Finally, the Ministry has taken additional measures that will allow students who attended certain schools that have since closed their doors to be eligible for the release of their student loans.
“Four years ago, President Biden promised to fix a broken student loan system. We rolled up our sleeves and together we fixed existing programs that had failed to deliver the relief promised, took bold action on behalf of borrowers who had been deceived by their institutions, and provided financial breathing room to American workers, including public servants. and borrowers with disabilities. Thanks to our tireless and unapologetic efforts, millions of Americans have had their student loans canceled,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “I am incredibly proud of the historic accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration in making the life-changing potential of higher education more affordable and accessible to more people.”
From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has taken steps to redesign, restore, and revitalize targeted relief programs that qualify borrowers for aid under the Higher Education Act, but which do not did not keep their promises. Through a combination of executive actions and regulatory improvements, the Biden-Harris administration has produced the following results for borrowers:
Fixed long-standing issues with Income-Driven Reimbursement (IDR). The Administration approved 1.45 million borrowers for $57.1 billion in loan relief, including $600 million for 4,550 borrowers announced today for IBR forgiveness.
IDR plans help keep payments manageable for borrowers and have paved the way for forgiveness after an extended period of time. These plans began in the early 1990s, but before the Biden-Harris administration took office, only 50 borrowers had their loans canceled. The administration corrected longstanding failures in accurately tracking borrowers’ progress toward forgiveness and corrected past instances of forbearance in which servicers inappropriately advised borrowers to defer payments for extended periods of time. These totals also include borrowers who received forgiveness under the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan before court decisions ended forgiveness under the SAVE plan.
Today, the Ministry also announced the completion of the adjustment of the number of IDR payments, thereby correcting the number of eligible payments. Although the payment number adjustment is now complete, borrowers who were impacted by certain servicer transitions in 2024 may see an additional month or two credited in the coming weeks. The department is also launching the ability for borrowers to track the progress of their IDR on StudentAid.gov. Borrowers can now log into their accounts and see the total number of IDR payments as well as a month-by-month breakdown of progress.
Reinstatement of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Promise (PSLF). The administration approved 1,069,000 borrowers for $78.5 billion in forgiveness.
The PSLF program provides essential support to teachers, military personnel, social workers, and anyone else engaged in public service. But before this administration took office, only 7,000 borrowers had received forgiveness, and the overwhelming majority of borrowers who applied had their applications denied. The Biden-Harris Administration has fixed this agenda by continuing regulatory improvements, correcting long-standing issues with tracking progress toward the waiver and misuse of forbearances, and implementing the limited PSLF waiver to avoid the damage caused by the pandemic.
Automated receipts and simplified eligibility criteria for borrowers with total and permanent disability. The administration approved 633,000 borrowers for $18.7 billion in loan relief.
Borrowers who are totally and permanently disabled may be eligible for a Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) discharge. The Biden-Harris Administration changed regulations to automatically cancel loans for eligible borrowers based on a data match with the Social Security Administration (SSA). This helped hundreds of thousands of borrowers who were eligible for relief but failed to complete the paperwork. The Department also made it easier for borrowers to qualify for relief based on SSA determinations, made it easier to complete the TPD application, and eliminated provisions that had caused many borrowers to reinstate their loans.
Provided long-awaited relief to borrowers who were defrauded by their institutions, whose schools closed, or through related court settlements. The administration approved loan relief for just under 2 million borrowers amounting to $34.5 billion.
For years, students have sought relief from the department through borrower defense to repayment, a provision that allows borrowers to have their loans forgiven if their college defaults. to loan-related misconduct by borrowers. The ministry delivered long-awaited relief to borrowers who have attended some of the most notoriously predatory institutions to ever participate in federal financial aid programs. This included approving the release of all remaining Corinthian Colleges loans, as well as group releases for ITT Technical Institute, Art Institutes, Westwood College, Ashford University and others . The Department also settled a long-standing class action lawsuit stemming from allegations of inaction and form denials, allowing it to begin the first sustained denials of unsubstantiated claims.
Today, the Department also approved 4,100 additional individual borrower defense requests for borrowers who attended DeVry University, based on findings announced in February 2022.
“For decades, the federal government has promised to help people who couldn’t pay their student loans because they worked in public service, were disabled, were cheated by their college, or had been making payments for decades . But until now, he has rarely delivered on his promises,” said James Kvaal, U.S. Undersecretary of Education. “These ongoing reforms have already helped more than 5 million borrowers, and even more borrowers will continue to benefit. »
The table below compares the Biden-Harris Administration’s progress in these key discharge areas compared to other administrations.
| Borrowers obtained forgiveness | ||
| Previous administrations | Biden-Harris administration | |
| Borrower defense (since 2015) | 53,500 | 1,767,000* |
| Public service loan forgiveness (since 2017) | 7,000 | 1,069,000 |
| Income-Based Repayment (All Time) | 50 | 1,454,000 |
| Total and permanent disability (since 2017) | 604,000 | 633,000 |
* Includes 107,000 borrowers and $1.25 billion captured by an extension of the closed school lookback window at ITT Technical Institute.
Additional actions related to exits from closed schools
The department also announced today additional measures that will make more borrowers eligible for closed school loan discharge. Generally, a borrower is eligible for a closed school exit if they did not complete their program and were still enrolled when the school closed or left without completing their degree in the 120 days preceding its closure. . However, the department has determined that several schools closed under exceptional circumstances that merit allowing borrowers who completed their education and were enrolled in the school more than 120 days before the closure to qualify for a discharge. school closed. justify the extension of the lookback period beyond the applicable 120 or 180 days, thereby allowing additional borrowers to qualify for a closed school exit. Generally, eligible borrowers will need to apply for these releases, but the Secretary has directed Federal Student Aid to notify borrowers of their eligibility and to request automatic releases for individuals affected by closures that occurred between 2013 and 2020 and who have not registered. elsewhere within three years of the closure of their school.
These adjusted analysis windows are:
- Until May 6, 2015, for all campuses formerly owned by the Career Education Corporation (CEC), which have since closed their doors. This is the day CEC announced it would close or sell all campuses except two brands. This affected the Art Institutes, Le Cordon Bleu, Brooks Institute, Missouri College, Briarcliffe College and Sanford-Brown.
- Until December 16, 2016, for campuses owned by the Education Corporation of America (ECA) on this closing date. ECA operated Virginia College, Brightwood College, EcoTech and golf academies and began closing after its accrediting agency lost federal recognition and ECA was unable to obtain accreditation elsewhere.
- Until October 17, 2017 for all campuses owned or sold on that date by the Education Management Corporation (EDMC) and subsequently closed. This is the day EDMC sold almost all of its assets to Dream Center Educational Holdings. The decision affects borrowers who attended art institutes, including Miami International University of Art and Design and Argosy University.
- Until April 23, 2021, for Bay State College. That’s the day this Massachusetts-based university began facing significant accreditation issues, ultimately leading the school to lose its accreditation and close its doors in August 2023.
Borrowers who want more information about exiting closed schools, including how to apply, can visit StudentAid.gov/closedschool.
A state-by-state breakdown of the various forms of student debt relief approved by the Biden-Harris administration is available. here.
