Dr. Miguel A. Cardona The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that more than 5 million Americans have been approved for student lo...
Dr. Miguel A. Cardona
Monday's announcement details three major components of relief:
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program has approved $465 million in relief for 6,100 additional borrowers, bringing the total to over $78.4 billion for 1.069 million public servants. This marks a dramatic increase from the mere 7,000 borrowers who had received PSLF relief at the start of the administration.
The Department also approved $1.26 billion in borrower defense relief for nearly 85,000 students who were misled by their institutions. This includes significant relief for former students of:
- Center for Excellence in Higher Education schools ($1.15 billion for 73,600 borrowers)
- Drake College of Business ($107 million for 11,000 borrowers)
- Lincoln Technical Institute's Criminal Justice Program ($1.4 million for 280 borrowers)
Additionally, 61,000 borrowers with total and permanent disabilities will receive $2.5 billion in relief through automated data matching with Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs records, as well as direct applications.
"Four years ago, President Biden promised to fix a broken student loan system," said Education Secretary Dr. Miguel A. Cardona. "Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to making higher education more accessible and holding institutions accountable to both students and taxpayers."
The administration's broader student debt relief efforts include $56.5 billion in forgiveness through Income-Driven Repayment plans, including the new SAVE plan, benefiting more than 1.4 million borrowers. The administration has also secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant—the largest in a decade—and implemented new regulations to protect students from underperforming career programs.
Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal emphasized the significance of these achievements: "Identifying 5 million people for student loan forgiveness means the federal government is finally keeping its promises to public servants, disabled borrowers, those misled by their colleges, and borrowers who have made payments for decades."
The Department of Education will begin notifying eligible borrowers via email about their automatic approvals and discharge status. A state-by-state breakdown of relief distribution is available through the Department of Education's website.
The Biden administration had hoped for more sweeping reform on the student debt crisis, but in 2023 the Supreme Court struck down the proposed forgiveness program, labeling it as unconstitutional.
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