The federal government announced an additional $3.82 billion in debt relief for 146,000 borrowers, continuing its efforts to reform the student loan system. This latest round forgives $465 million for borrowers enrolled in the the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF), $1.15 billion for those who attended institutions owned by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education, $108.4 million for former students of the Drake College of Business, and $1.4 million to address misleading job placement rates at Lincoln Technical Institute. Additionally, $2.5 billion is being awarded to borrowers with total and permanent disabilities. With this latest announcement, the administration has forgiven a total of $183.6 billion in student loan debt since 2021.
PRESS RELEASE | January 13, 2025
Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov
Biden-Harris Administration Surpasses 5 Million Borrowers Approved for Student Loan Forgiveness
Approved discharge amount reaches $183.6 billion
The Biden-Harris Administration announced today several additional actions to forgive federal student loans for public servants and borrowers with disabilities, as well as the loans of borrowers who attended colleges that engaged in wrongdoing. Across 28 debt relief actions, including today’s, the Administration has announced $183.6 billion in student loan forgiveness for more than 5 million borrowers since taking office.
“Four years ago, President Biden made a promise to fix a broken student loan system. Today, life-changing student debt relief is possible for more than five million borrowers—more than any other administration in history,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Thanks to our tireless and unapologetic efforts to work toward a system that is affordable and accountable to both students and taxpayers, today’s announcement includes additional relief for borrowers misled and cheated by their institutions, borrowers with disabilities, as well as additional loan forgiveness for public servants I’m proud of our work to bring relief to these hardworking Americans across the country, and of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic achievements in making the potential of higher education possible for more people.”
Today’s announcement is related to several types of discharges. First, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) approved 6,100 borrowers for $465 million through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Second, the Department approved nearly 85,000 borrowers for $1.26 billion in relief based upon borrower defense findings. This includes three new sets of automatic discharges for groups of borrowers who were subject to the same misconduct. Finally, the Department announced an additional $2.5 billion for 61,000 borrowers with a total and permanent disability.
“Identifying 5 million people for student loan forgiveness means the federal government is finally keeping its promises,” said U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal. “People who cannot afford their student loans because they are in public service, have disabilities, were cheated by their college, or who have completed decades of payments are now getting the relief they were promised. These permanent reforms will continue to more and more borrowers every year.”
New PSLF Approvals
Last year, the Department implemented a new approach for processing PSLF applications and approving discharges. Today, the Department approved relief for 6,100 borrowers and $465 million. The total number of borrowers approved for PSLF is now 1,069,000 and $78.46 billion. By contrast, only 7,000 borrowers had received PSLF at the start of the Biden-Harris Administration.
Additional Approvals for Borrower Defense
The Department approved borrower defense group relief for the following borrowers. Eligible borrowers who attended these institutions will receive relief automatically, regardless of whether they submitted a borrower defense to repayment application. They will begin receiving emails from the Department informing them they have been automatically approved for a full discharge in the coming days. These actions cover:
- 73,600 borrowers and $1.15 billion who attended any school owned by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE). This was a Utah-based company that operated CollegeAmerica, Stevens-Henager College, Independence University, and California College San Diego. This action covers borrowers who attended from January 1, 2006, through August 1, 2021. These approvals are based on findings that CEHE engaged in widespread and pervasive misrepresentations related to salaries, employment prospects, and its private loan product. This group announcement is an expansion of the relief announced last year for borrowers attended CEHE’s CollegeAmerica campus in Colorado. Both actions were assisted by evidence provided by the Colorado Attorney General.
- 11,000 borrowers and $107 million who attended any location of Drake College of Business from January 1, 2008, through the school’s closure on July 31, 2015. Drake was located in New Jersey. Investigations by the Department found that Drake extensively recruited at homeless shelters and other temporary housing facilities and lied to borrowers about the promise of “free stipends” that were actually student loans. Drake also misrepresented the assistance in borrowers obtaining externships and the job placement it provided.
- 280 borrowers and $1.4 million who attended the Criminal Justice Program at Lincoln Technical Institute’s campus in Lowell, Massachusetts, from 2010 to 2012 or the Somerville, Massachusetts, campus from 2010 to 2013. Based upon evidence provided by the Massachusetts Attorney General, the Department concluded that Lincoln Tech misled students about its job placement rates in that program at those locations.
In addition to the new approvals, the Department last week emailed all borrowers previously approved for group discharges with a letter reaffirming their entitlement to a full discharge of their remaining balances and a refund of payments made to the Secretary. The email was sent to borrowers whose loans have been fully discharged as well as those that are still in process. Borrowers will also receive a case number, making it easier for them to provide proof of their approval.
Additional Disability Discharges
The Department today also announced that an additional 61,000 borrowers have been approved for $2.5 billion in total and permanent disability discharges. Today’s total includes borrowers automatically approved for relief through data matches with the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, as well as borrowers who applied to the Department. In total, nearly 633,000 borrowers have received $18.7 billion in disability discharges during the Biden-Harris Administration.
An Unparalleled Record of Support for Federal Student Loan Borrowers
Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to helping borrowers who have struggled with the burden of student loan debt and to identifying those who are entitled to targeted relief. In addition to the amounts described above, the the Biden-Harris Administration has also approved:
- $56.5 billion for more than 1.4 million borrowers through Income-Driven Repayment, including the Saving on a Valuable Education SAVE plan. This includes administrative adjustments to income-driven repayment that brought borrowers closer to forgiveness and addressed longstanding problems due to past inaccuracies and the misuse of forbearance by loan servicers.
In addition to ensuring that student loans are not a barrier to educational and economic opportunity for students and families, the Administration also secured a $900 increase to the maximum Pell Grant—the largest increase in a decade—and finalized new rules to help protect borrowers from career programs that leave graduates with unaffordable debts and insufficient earnings.
A state-by-state breakdown of various forms of student debt relief approved by the Biden-Harris Administration is available here.
SOURCE: Biden-Harris Administration Surpasses 5 Million Borrowers Approved for Student Loan Forgiveness