Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates Milestone: Over 5 Million Borrowers Now Free from Student Loan Debt

The Biden-Harris Administration unveiled today multiple new initiatives to cancel federal student loans for public servants and individuals with disabilities, along with those borrowers who attended institutions that perpetrated wrongdoing. Over 28 debt relief initiatives, including today’s actions, the Administration has disclosed $183.6 billion in student loan forgiveness affecting more than 5 million borrowers since taking office. 

“Four years prior, President Biden pledged to rectify a flawed student loan system. Today, transformative student debt relief is achievable for over five million borrowers—more than has been achieved by any other administration in history,” stated U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Due to our relentless and steadfast dedication to create a system that is affordable and accountable to both students and taxpayers, today’s announcement includes extra relief for borrowers who have been misled and wronged by their institutions, for borrowers with disabilities, as well as added loan forgiveness for public servants. I take pride in our efforts to provide aid to these dedicated Americans nationwide, and in the Biden-Harris Administration’s landmark accomplishments in expanding the possibilities of higher education for a greater number of individuals.”

Today’s announcement pertains to various forms of discharges. Firstly, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) approved 6,100 borrowers for $465 million via Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Secondly, the Department sanctioned nearly 85,000 borrowers for $1.26 billion in relief based on borrower defense evidence. This includes three new sets of automatic discharges for categories of borrowers who experienced identical misconduct. Lastly, the Department disclosed an additional $2.5 billion for 61,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability. 

“Identifying 5 million individuals for student loan forgiveness signifies that the federal government is finally fulfilling its commitments,” remarked U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “Individuals who are unable to manage their student loans due to their public service, disabilities, having been deceived by their college, or those who have completed loads of payments are now receiving the relief they were guaranteed. These lasting reforms will benefit more and more borrowers each year.”

New PSLF Approvals

Last year, the Department applied a fresh strategy for processing PSLF applications and granting discharges. Today, the Department sanctioned relief for 6,100 borrowers totaling $465 million. The overall count of borrowers approved for PSLF has reached 1,069,000, with a total of $78.46 billion. In comparison, at the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration, only 7,000 borrowers had been granted PSLF. 

Additional Approvals for Borrower Defense

The Department granted borrower defense group relief for the borrowers listed below. Eligible borrowers who attended these institutions will receive relief automatically, regardless of whether they submitted a borrower defense to repayment application. They will start receiving emails from the Department notifying them of their automatic approval for a full discharge in the forthcoming days. These measures encompass:

• 73,600 borrowers and $1.15 billion who attended any institution operated by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE). This Utah-based firm managed CollegeAmerica, Stevens-Henager College, Independence University, and California College San Diego. This action involves borrowers who attended from January 1, 2006, until August 1, 2021. These approvals were grounded in findings that CEHE engaged in widespread and extensive misrepresentations pertaining to salaries, employment opportunities, and its private loan offerings. This group announcement expands on the relief disclosed last year for borrowers from CEHE’s CollegeAmerica campus in Colorado. Both actions were aided by evidence supplied by the Colorado Attorney General.
• 11,000 borrowers and $107 million who attended any location of Drake College of Business from January 1, 2008, until the school’s closure on July 31, 2015. Drake was situated in New Jersey. Investigations by the Department revealed that Drake extensively recruited at homeless shelters and other temporary accommodation facilities, misleading borrowers about the promise of “free stipends” that were actually student loans. Drake also misrepresented the assistance provided to borrowers in securing externships and the job placements it offered.
• 280 borrowers and $1.4 million who enrolled in the Criminal Justice Program at Lincoln Technical Institute’s campus in Lowell, Massachusetts, from 2010 to 2012 or the Somerville, Massachusetts, campus between 2010 and 2013. Based on evidence submitted by the Massachusetts Attorney General, the Department established that Lincoln Tech misled students regarding its job placement rates in that program at those specific locations. 

Along with the new approvals, the Department emailed all borrowers who had previously been approved for group discharges last week, providing them with a letter reaffirming their eligibility for a complete discharge of their remaining balances and a refund for payments made to the Secretary. The emails were dispatched to borrowers whose loans have been fully discharged as well as those still undergoing the process. Borrowers will receive a case number as well for easier proof of their approval.

Additional Disability Discharges

Today, the Department also disclosed that another 61,000 borrowers have been approved for $2.5 billion in total and permanent disability discharges. Today’s total comprises borrowers who were automatically approved for relief through data matches with the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, along with borrowers who applied directly to the Department. In total, nearly 633,000 borrowers have received $18.7 billion in disability discharges during the Biden-Harris Administration.

A Remarkable Record of Assistance for Federal Student Loan Borrowers

From the very beginning, the Biden-Harris Administration has been dedicated to aiding borrowers who have faced challenges due to student loan debt, as well as identifying those eligible for targeted relief. Besides the amounts outlined earlier, the Biden-Harris Administration has also authorized:

• $56.5 billion for more than 1.4 million borrowers through Income-Driven Repayment, which includes the Saving on a Valuable Education SAVE plan. This encompasses administrative adjustments to income-driven repayment that have brought borrowers closer to forgiveness and addressed enduring issues due to previous inaccuracies and the inappropriate use of forbearance by loan servicers. 

In addition to eliminating obstacles posed by student loans to educational and economic opportunities for students and families, the Administration has also achieved a $900 increment to the maximum Pell Grant—the largest increase in a decade—and formalized new regulations to aid in shielding borrowers from career programs that leave graduates with excessive debts and insufficient earnings.

A breakdown by state of various forms of student debt relief sanctioned by the Biden-Harris Administration is available here.