Study Guide

Building on its previous efforts to reduce the cost of federal student loans, the Department of Education (DOE), as directed by the Biden-Harris administration, proposed a new rule on Tuesday, January 10, that would reform the federal student loan repayment process. The draft rule recommends a new income-driven repayment (IDR) plan for federal student loan borrowers in addition to simplifying current repayment programs and shortening the timeline for forgiveness.

As litigation surrounding the Biden-Harris administration’s student debt forgiveness plan persists, the administration announced an extension of the student loan repayment pause through June 30, 2023. In an announcement earlier this year regarding student loan forgiveness, monthly payments were set to resume on January 1, 2023. Now that the loan forgiveness is the subject of litigation, the administration has again paused student loan payments.

Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (DOE) distributed guidance to the legal community clarifying the process for the discharge of federal student loans in bankruptcy proceedings. The agencies said that the new guidelines will standardize, expedite and simplify the legal process student loan borrowers must undergo to discharge their loans.

On Thursday, November 11, Judge Mark Pittman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas released a decision that found the Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Student Debt Relief Plan was unconstitutional.

On Thursday, October 27, the Department of Education (DOE) announced new regulations that carry out provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376) regarding oversight of-profit colleges, expanding Pell grants to incarcerated students and changes to institutional ownership guidelines. These rules were published in the Federal Register on Friday, October 28. The final regulations address:

Late on Friday, October 21, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of the Biden-Harris administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan while it considers a lawsuit brought by six Republican state attorneys general to block the program. The court announced that it would hear the emergency request levied by Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina on an expedited basis, with briefs from each side due Monday and Tuesday. The court issued the stay after the states sent a notice of appeal to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday night following the denial of their case by U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey.