Courts Force Education Department to Forgive $150 Million in Student Loans

The Department of Education will begin forgiving $150 million worth of student loan debt for those attending for-profit colleges that closed while students were still enrolled. Officials say that around 15,000 former students’ debts will be excused. The loans are being forgiven after a federal judge ruled that Education Secretary Betsy Devos was unlawfully delaying an Obama-era policy known as “borrower defense to repayment”.

Last year the Department of Education rolled back two Obama administration regulations aimed to protect students and hold for-profit colleges more accountable. One, the “borrower defense to repayment” was intended to go in place in July, and is designed to make it easier for students who said they were defrauded by their schools to get their loans potentially forgiven. The courts have ruled that Devos’ attempts to repeal the regulations are illegal. The Education Department will begin notifying former students today that it is forgiving around $150 million in student loan debt, over half of which will be cancelled for students who attended the now closed Corinthian Colleges.

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