On Thursday, the Supreme Court denied a group of institutions’ attempt to halt the $6 billion student loan forgiveness settlement, allowing it to proceed. Nearly 200,000 borrowers who say their institutions defrauded them will have their loans cancelled as a result of a settlement reached between the Biden administration and a group of borrowers.
Borrowers who attended numerous for-profit colleges filed the case, claiming that the colleges gave false information regarding their graduation rates and employment prospects. According to the borrowers, they are qualified for debt relief under the Borrower Defense to Repayment program, which entitles them to loan cancellation in the event that their institutions engage in “substantial misconduct.”
The Education Department gave its approval to the settlement in November 2022. The government would forgive the loans of borrowers who attended one of the 151 institutions that received a citation for improper conduct in compliance with the agreement. These colleges include a number of renowned for-profit universities, such as Corinthian Universities, ITT Tech, and DeVry University.
For borrowers who feel their institutions lied to them, the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the settlement is welcome news. The settlement will provide much-needed relief to these debtors, who have struggled to repay their loans for years. This choice benefits the Biden administration, which has made student loan forgiveness a priority.
The Biden administration is making several efforts to solve the issue of student loan debt, including the settlement. In December 2022, the administration announced that it would postpone student debt installments by another six months. The administration is also considering waiving up to $10,000 in student loan debt for students.
Debt from student loans is a complex issue. Millions of borrowers are having trouble paying back their loans, and the issue is having a significant impact on the economy. The Biden administration’s efforts to find a solution have moved in the right direction with the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the settlement to proceed.
The Biden administration and the borrowers who stand to gain from it both win from the decision. The administration has made student loan relief a major priority, which shows in its decision that it is committed to finding a solution to this problem.
For borrowers who have been fighting for loan forgiveness for years, the accord is also a victory. The decision is a comfort for the settlement participants, who are also borrowers, because they have been through a lot. It also demonstrates that the government is now carefully deliberating its allegations.