Department of Education Announces Action to Streamline Borrower Defense Relief Process

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced it will streamline debt relief determinations for borrowers with claims approved to date that their institution engaged in certain misconduct. The Department will be rescinding the formula for calculating partial relief and adopting a streamlined approach for granting full relief under the regulations to borrower defense claims approved to date. The Department anticipates this change will ultimately help approximately 72,000 borrowers receive $1 billion in loan cancellation.

“Borrowers deserve a simplified and fair path to relief when they have been harmed by their institution’s misconduct,” said Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “A close review of these claims and the associated evidence showed these borrowers have been harmed and we will grant them a fresh start from their debt.”

Current provisions in federal law called "borrower defense to repayment" or "borrower defense" allow federal borrowers to seek cancellation of their William D. Ford Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program loans if their institution engaged in certain misconduct. Beginning today, the Department will ensure that borrowers with approved borrower defense claims to date will have a streamlined path to receiving full loan discharges. This includes borrowers with previously approved claims that received less than a full loan discharge.

Full relief under the regulations will include:

• 100 percent discharge of borrowers’ related federal student loans.
• Reimbursement of any amounts paid on the loans, where appropriate under the regulations.
• Requests to credit bureaus to remove any related negative credit reporting. And,
• Reinstatement of federal student aid eligibility, if applicable.

This new approach replaces a