Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 8 - Issue 32

A U.S. District judge in Georgia who extended a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the Education Department (ED) over a forthcoming debt relief program ruled that Georgia did not prove that it had authority to challenge the program. Recall that a TRO was issued after seven states filed a preliminary lawsuit against ED claiming that it had been directing loan servicers to begin cancelling student loans before the rule was finalized. The debt relief program, which was proposed in April and was scheduled to take effect this fall, would permit debt forgiveness waivers for borrowers who:

• Owe more than they did when their loans first entered repayment;
• First entered repayment either 20 or 25 years ago;
• Are eligible for loan forgiveness but have not yet applied; and
• Are enrolled in low-financial-value programs.

The judge also declined to stop ED from implementing the program and transferred the case to a Missouri court, which is one of the states challenging the program, because the plaintiffs claim the forgiveness program would most harm the student loan servicer, Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA). Late Thursday, a Missouri federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to once again halt implementation of the student debt relief package.

Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce released a report exploring the utility of graduate degrees, revealing that those with graduate degrees in social sciences, including law, earn the highest wage premium relative to workers with bachelor’s degrees in the same broad field of study.

The following bill(s) have been recently introduced for consideration by the 118th Congress (2023-2024):

S. 5162 – Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Reset and Reform Act [Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ)] would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to hold financial aid recipients and students who do not receive aid to similar academic requirements.