Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 7 - Issue 27

Over the weekend, two organizations filed a lawsuit against the Biden-Harris Administration challenging its one-time income-driven repayment (IDR) payment count adjustment. Recall that in April 2022, the Education Department (ED) announced a plan to provide borrowers with a payment count adjustment to compensate for ED’s poor record keeping of IDR payments. In the lawsuit, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Cato Institute allege that ED did not follow the proper negotiated rulemaking process and that the payment count adjustment would reduce the benefits of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

An article by The Education Trust suggests eight ways borrowers can prepare for student loan repayment, including maximizing the benefits of the income-driven account adjustment and enrolling in the Fresh Start program if their student loans are in default.

An analysis from Bloomberg Law revealed that women shoulder a majority of six-figure law school debt, as 60 percent of respondents who reported having more than a quarter of a million dollars in debt were women.

The National Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators published its annual National Student Aid Profile, which provides an overview of 2023 federal programs.

Some student loan companies are encouraging borrowers to refinance their loans, which could lower payments but would make them ineligible for federal benefits.

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 118th Congress (2023-2024).