An Attorney Explains Who May Qualify For Student Loan Forgiveness Under New Biden Plan

A new student loan forgiveness plan is in the works. In the wake of last summer’s Supreme Court ruling striking down the administration’s initial mass student debt relief initiative, President Biden announced a “Plan B.” And the Education Department is now taking some big steps to establish the new program.

Biden’s initial loan forgiveness program was premised on legal authority provided by the HEROES Act of 2003, a statute that confers emergency powers to the Education Department to modify federal student loan programs in response to a national disaster, like a pandemic. The Supreme Court interpreted this authority narrowly, however, concluding that Congress did not specifically contemplate expansive student loan forgiveness as a remedy for national emergencies.