What Happens Now?
The U.S. Department of Education is currently undergoing a rulemaking process to provide debt relief for as many borrowers as possible under a different law. After convening a negotiated rulemaking committee, which included representatives from public organizations and interest groups most affected by student debt, the Department released proposed regulations in May 2024. NEA will not stop advocating for educators, students, and families until they get the debt relief they deserve. As the rulemaking process proceeds, we will update our members on any new developments.
The Biden-Harris Administration also continues to provide student debt relief forgiveness through other key federal programs. Since taking office, the Administration has forgiven $168.5 billion for nearly 4.8 million Americans and counting. This figure includes $69.2 billion for 946,000 public sector workers, including thousands of educators, through Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
The Biden-Harris Administration has also introduced a new income-driven repayment plan called “Saving on a Valuable Education” or SAVE—the most affordable repayment plan in history. Under SAVE, borrowers may save thousands of dollars per year, will not see their balances grow due to accrued interest, and could enjoy a shorter path to complete forgiveness. Unfortunately, SAVE has been challenged by conservative right-wing opponents and is on hold pending the resolution of lawsuits. More information on the status and potential benefits of SAVE can be found here.
How We Got Here
Public Service Loan Forgiveness is still here for educators and other public service workers.
The Supreme Court ruling did not affect the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Through this program, once public service workers provide 10 years of public service while making 120 monthly payments on their federal student loans, any remaining balance on those loans is forgiven.
About Public Service Loan Forgiveness
No matter what we look like or where we live, no one should face the burden of overwhelming debt in order to get an education.
After hearing from educators and other advocates across the country, in August 2022, President Biden and the U.S. Department of Education announced a bold, life-changing student debt cancellation plan that would have reached over 43 million student borrowers in America.
The Biden-Harris Administration’s one-time debt relief program would have canceled up to $10,000 in federal student debt for most individuals, including current students, and canceled up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients. But legal attacks by conservative state leaders and right-wing interest groups brought the program to a halt. This high-stakes legal challenge was brought all the way up to the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday, February 28, 2023, when the case was argued, we joined advocates from across the country at the Supreme Court to make it clear that student debt cancellation is just, necessary, and legal.
What Did the Supreme Court Say?
On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court struck down the Biden-Harris Administration’s one-time student debt relief program in the case of Biden v. Nebraska. The Court’s conservative majority sided with six Republican-led states and decided that the Secretary of Education could not carry out the debt relief program under the HEROES Act.
The Court’s liberal minority disagreed strongly and criticized the majority for deciding “a contested public policy issue properly belonging to the politically accountable branches and the people they represent,” going so far as to characterize the decision as damaging, dangerous, and disturbing.
What does this decision mean for educators? Teacher Zander Epps breaks it down:
