Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 8 - Issue 7

Late last week, the Education Department (ED) held its fourth and final negotiated rulemaking session focused on the issue of providing relief to borrowers experiencing financial hardship. Consensus was reached by the panel on ED’s proposed regulatory text which would provide one-time debt forgiveness to borrowers that data suggest are 80 percent likely to default on their student loans within two years, and forgiveness to borrowers who meet a hardship determination based on several outlined factors. Because consensus was reached, ED must release the draft proposal which was agreed upon during the negotiated rulemaking session.

ED released a breakdown of the state-by-state impact of the Biden-Harris Administration’s recent student loan forgiveness effort. Recall that ED sent emails to 153,000 federal student loan borrowers notifying them that they would be receiving student loan forgiveness under early implementation of a Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan provision that forgives the debt of borrowers who borrowed less than $12,000 and who have made payments for 10 years. The data showed that borrowers in Texas had the largest amount of forgiveness at nearly $117 million.

As Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) delays continue, there could be a substantial decline in the number of students receiving aid.

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