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US Federal Student Debt Forgiven for Disabled Borrowers
Student loan borrowers in the United States with total and permanent disability will have their debt discharged, the U.S. Department of Education (DoED) has announced.
"Borrowers with total and permanent disabilities should focus on their well-being, not put their health on the line to submit earnings information during the COVID-19 emergency," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a press release.
"Waiving these requirements will ensure no borrower who is totally and permanently disabled risks having to repay their loans simply because they could not submit paperwork."
The forgiveness will impact more than 230,000 borrowers. The debt relief applies to federal student loan borrowers with “total and permanent disability,” DoED explained.
An example of borrowers who will be relieved by this action are veterans who took out federal student loans and have been deemed disabled by the U.S. Veteran’s Administration. Total and permanent disability exists if an individual can no longer work because of illness or injury.
Of the 230,000, more than 41,000 will be refunded payments made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, they will not be asked to submit earnings documentation for that time, the statement said.
By federal regulation, borrowers of federal loans who receive debt discharge are “subject to a three-year monitoring period,” meaning they must provide employment and earnings information to the department.
But during the COVID-19 pandemic, DoED is waiving that employment and earnings requirement for the other 190,000 borrowers who remain in a monitoring period.
“These changes will ensure that no borrowers are at risk of having their loans reinstated — meaning they would have to repay their debt — for failure to provide earnings information during the COVID-19 emergency,” DoED said in a press release on Monday.
Some borrowers who earn more than federal thresholds or who do not meet other criteria will have their loans reinstated after the pandemic, DoED said.
DoED will not require borrowers who have received a debt discharge because of total and permanent disability to submit earnings documentation for the duration of the COVID-19 emergency. The debt relief is retroactive to March 13, 2020.
The department said this action is on top of “pausing interest, payments, and collection activity on the vast majority of federal student loans through at least September 30, 2021.”
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Trump administration opens antisemitism inquiries at 5 colleges, including Columbia and Berkeley
The Trump administration is opening new investigations into allegations of antisemitism at five U.S. universities including Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley, the Education Department announced Monday.
It's part of President Donald Trump's promise to take a tougher stance against campus antisemitism and deal out harsher penalties than the Biden administration, which settled a flurry of cases with universities in its final weeks. It comes the same day the Justice Department announced a new task force to root out antisemitism on college campuses.
In an order signed last week, Trump called for aggressive action to fight anti-Jewish bias on campuses, including the deportation of foreign students who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
Along with Columbia and Berkeley, the department is now investigating the University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. The cases were opened using the department's power to launch its own civil rights reviews, unlike the majority of investigations, which stem from complaints.
Messages seeking comment were left with all five universities.
A statement from the Education Department criticized colleges for tolerating antisemitism after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a wave of pro-Palestinian protests that followed. It also criticized the Biden administration for negotiating "toothless" resolutions that failed to hold schools accountable.
"Today, the Department is putting universities, colleges, and K-12 schools on notice: this administration will not tolerate continued institutional indifference to the wellbeing of Jewish students on American campuses," said Craig Trainor, the agency's acting assistant secretary for civil rights.
The department didn't provide details about the inquiries or how it decided which schools are being targeted. Presidents of Columbia and Northwestern were among those called to testify on Capitol Hill last year as Republicans sought accountability for allegations of antisemitism. The hearings contributed to the resignation of multiple university presidents, including Columbia's Minouche Shafik.
An October report from House Republicans accused Columbia of failing to punish pro-Palestinian students who took over a campus building, and it called Northwestern's negotiations with student protesters a "stunning capitulation."
House Republicans applauded the new investigations. Representative Tim Walberg, chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, said he was "glad that we finally have an administration who is taking action to protect Jewish students."
Trump's order also calls for a full review of antisemitism complaints filed with the Education Department since Oct. 7, 2023, including pending and resolved cases from the Biden administration. It encourages the Justice Department to take action to enforce civil rights laws.
Last week's order drew backlash from civil rights groups who said it violated First Amendment rights that protect political speech.
The new task force announced Monday includes the Justice and Education departments along with Health and Human Services.
"The Department takes seriously our responsibility to eradicate this hatred wherever it is found," said Leo Terrell, assistant attorney general for civil rights. "The Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is the first step in giving life to President Trump's renewed commitment to ending anti-Semitism in our schools."
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