Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 7 - Issue 35

On Tuesday, the Education Department (ED) held its first negotiated rulemaking session to begin drafting regulations relating to the modification, waiver, or compromise of federal student loans. Recall that after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Biden-Harris Administration’s debt forgiveness plan, President Biden announced that his administration would pursue debt forgiveness through the negotiated rulemaking process using the Higher Education Act. Opening the session, ED Undersecretary James Kvaal remarked that the department would be creating clearer guidelines to ensure that the waiver of student debt would happen in a “fair and lawful manner.”

Also on Tuesday, Republican senators sent a letter to ED Secretary Miguel Cardona accusing the agency of convening a panel of biased negotiators favoring higher education institutions and borrowers. The letter also accused ED of overstepping its authority by using the negotiated rulemaking process to provide borrowers with student debt forgiveness. Instead, the senators urged the Biden-Harris Administration to work with them by supporting the Lowering Education Costs and Debt Act, a legislative package aimed at addressing the cost of higher education.

As student loan repayments resumed at the beginning of October, borrowers face issues with their accounts, such as inaccurate bills.

An article by Forbes breaks down what borrowers should know about the Biden-Harris Administration's latest student loan cancellation effort.

A study from Discover revealed that 88 percent of parents with college-bound children are unaware of the FAFSA Simplification Act, which aims to make the FASFA easier to complete while expanding financial aid eligibility.

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