Boston Student Loan Lawyer

Law Office of Adam S. Minsky

Updates on Trump’s Student Loan Proposals

| Articles Current Events Income-Based Repayment Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Pay-As-You-Earn Policy & Reform

It’s been a whirlwind week. Last week’s leaked budget documents from the Trump administration showed proposed cuts to critical student loan programs including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, as well as major changes to income-driven repayment plans. The proposals sparked panic; hundreds of thousands of student loan borrowers have made major life decisions – selecting specific careers and specific repayment plans – in reliance on the continued existence of these programs. To have the rug pulled out from under them would be disruptive and unfair, and would likely be the basis of viable legal challenges.

After just a few days, we have some important updates on some of these reforms. Some good news, and some bad. Read on.Read More

BREAKING: Trump Budget Proposal Ends Public Service Loan Forgiveness

| Articles Current Events Income-Based Repayment Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Pay-As-You-Earn Policy & Reform

President Trump’s budget proposal calls for the elimination of funding for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The program allows for borrowers who are repaying their Direct federal student loans under an income-driven repayment plan while working full time for a public service employer to have any remaining balance forgiven after 10 years of qualifying payments. The first wave of borrowers eligible for forgiveness under this program will be applying later this year.

While this is certainly a time to be extremely vigilant, there are two things to keep in mind before panicking:Read More

Student Loan News Roundup: April 2017

| Articles Current Events For-Profit Colleges Income-Based Repayment Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Pay-As-You-Earn

There’s a lot going on right now in student loan news. Let’s get right to it.

New York State Will Offer Free College – With a Catch

New York is poised to become the first state in the country to offer free college tuition to its residents. Families who make $125,000 or less would be eligible for tuition-free college at all SUNY and CUNY campuses. This has the potential to benefit up to a million families. But there’s a catch – students who benefit from this initiative will have to live and work in New York for several years after graduating. If they don’t, the “free” tuition will be converted into loans that must be repaid. This has some borrower advocates concerned.Read More

Dept. of Education says Loan Forgiveness Decisions Can be Invalidated

| Articles Current Events Loan Forgiveness

In a stunning court filing this week, the U.S. Dept. of Education says that borrowers cannot rely on written determinations of eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

Background: The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program allows for borrowers who make “qualifying payments” while working in “qualifying” public service employment to get any remaining loan balance on “qualifying” federal student loans forgiven after 120 payments – which adds up to 10 years, if the payments are made consecutively. Hundreds of thousands of student loan borrowers may be eligible for the program. Read More

End-of-the-Year Student Loan News Roundup

| Articles Current Events Default For-Profit Colleges Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Policy & Reform Private Student Loans

2016 has been a big year in student loan law. We saw the release of Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE), a new income-driven repayment plan for federal student loans, although its rollout and implementation were a bit of a mess. We saw a continued federal crackdown on predatory for-profit schools which resulted in the collapse of ITT Technical Institute. The Obama administration issued final rules on student loan forgiveness and debt relief for students who were defrauded by their colleges and universities. And finally, Donald Trump was elected to be the next President, leading to a great deal of uncertainty about the direction of student loan programs.

There’s never a dull moment when it comes to student loan issues, and as the year comes to a close, there’s still a lot going on. Here are some highlights. Read More

4 Student Loan Borrower Groups Most At Risk Post-Election

| Articles Current Events For-Profit Colleges Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Policy & Reform

mayer-betsydevostrumpThere’s been a lot of uncertainty since the election regarding what the Trump administration and the Republican-controlled Congress may have in mind for student loan borrowers. During the past few weeks, I’ve been carefully watching public statements, investigating proposed appointments, and speaking with other advocates and experts. While everything at this point is still speculation, I think we’re beginning to see some clues as to where student loan reform may be going in the next few years, and who may be most at risk from potential negative consequences.Read More

7 Student Loan Protections to be Thankful For

| Articles Current Events Default For-Profit Colleges Income-Based Repayment Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Pay-As-You-Earn Policy & Reform

turkeyIt’s been two weeks since the election, and there’s still much uncertainty about what the consequences of the election will be for student loan borrowers. While Hillary Clinton had mapped out a series of student loan reform proposals, Donald Trump has been far less specific about how he plans to deal with the $1.4 trillion in outstanding student debt.

In this time of uncertainty, and in keeping with the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I think it’s a good time to take stock of what we have and be grateful. If you follow this blog, you know that I frequently write about problems and deficiencies with the the student loan system. And for good reason – student loans are a mess, with inefficient servicing, damaging debt collection, and the potential for life-altering negative consequences for borrowers. There’s a lot to be angry about, and a lot that should change.

But, there are also good elements of the student loan system – programs and laws that keep people in good standing, allow them to repay their loans fairly, and protect them from abuses. As we press forward into this period of change and uncertainty, we may have to do some hard work to preserve what we have.Read More

What the Election Results Mean for Student Loan Borrowers

| Articles Current Events For-Profit Colleges Income-Based Repayment Income-Driven Repayment Loan Forgiveness Pay-As-You-Earn Policy & Reform

Donald TrumpIt’s the political upset of the century, and this election is going to be studied by analysts and political scientists for years. But the reality is clear: Donald Trump has been elected the next President of the United States, and both houses of Congress will remain firmly in Republican control for the next two (and likely four) years. This is starkly different than what was expected by the political class just 48 hours ago – a Hillary Clinton win, with the Senate likely flipping to Democratic control.

A lot is being written right now about this election, and what it might mean for the country. I have seen very little, however, on what the election might mean for student loan borrowers. I’ve been quite clear that this election was going to be hugely consequential for student loan borrowers, regardless of who won. This is certainly still true today. And now we have to start thinking about what may be next for people with student loans.

Below are my candid thoughts on what I think student loan borrowers may be looking at over the next four years. I should be clear – while I believe my assessments below are consistent with the rhetoric and with the past actions of our next executive and legislative leaders, absolutely nothing is concrete at this time. There is a lot we just don’t know – and can’t know – at this early juncture. With that caveat, read on. Read More

Final Rules Issued for Student Loan Forgiveness Program

| Articles Current Events For-Profit Colleges Loan Forgiveness Policy & Reform

US_Capitol_Building_at_night_Jan_2006This week, the U.S. Department of Education released its long-awaited final regulations governing borrower Defense to Repayment.

As you may recall, thousands of borrowers began petitioning the federal government to forgive their federal student loans following the collapse of the for-profit college chain, Corinthian Colleges. Students argued that they should not be held responsible for student loans issued by a predatory company that took advantage of people and actively misled them. The students requested student loan relief and forgiveness under a little-known contractual and regulatory clause called “Defense to Repayment.” Since then, ITT Technical Institute has also collapsed, and many ITT graduates are requesting similar forms of relief.

The Dept. of Education had no formalized procedure for addressing Defense to Repayment, and so it began a long bureaucratic process to implement new rules and standards so that officials can determine who may be entitled to relief. After months of work, the Dept. of Education finally issued its new rules. Here are the highlights:Read More

Major For-Profit College Chain May Collapse

| Articles Current Events For-Profit Colleges Loan Forgiveness

ITT_Technical_Institute_campus_Canton_MichiganITT Technical Institute, one of the largest for-profit college chains in the country with nearly 45,000 students, may be on the brink of collapse.

The U.S. Dept. of Education just announced that ITT will no longer be eligible to access federal financial aid. In other words, students attending ITT can no longer finance their education through the federal student loan and grant system.  This is in response to growing federal and state scrutiny of ITT over the past several years. ITT has very high tuition (anywhere from $45,000 to $85,000) and has been accused of engaging in high-pressure sales tactics, misrepresenting the quality of its educational programs, and failing to secure adequate career outcomes for its graduates. According to a July 2014 Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee report, 57% of ITT programs would fail the Department of Education’s proposed Gainful Employment rule. ITT also reportedly has one of the highest student loan default rates in the country.

As part of the federal aid announcement, the U.S. Dept. of Education also announced that it is requiring ITT to substantially increase its access to credit. This requirement is an indication that the federal government views ITT as a potentially significant risk to the taxpayer, should the U.S. Dept. of Education determine that ITT students and graduates are entitled to student loan forgiveness as a result of the school’s conduct.

In response to the announcement, ITT’s stock price has collapsed, and the school has stopped enrolling new students. With ITT’s main source of revenue (federal student aid) cut off, and with potentially crippling new financial requirements, it is very possible that ITT may completely collapse, leaving tens of thousands of students with an incomplete or useless degree – and lots of student debt. It is unclear at this early juncture whether these students would be entitled to student loan forgiveness under the new Defense to Repayment regulations (which are still being finalized) – but this would be the exact type of scenario that those new regulations are designed for.

Federal student loan borrowers currently enrolled in ITT campuses should be aware that if their school closes, and that closure prevents them from completing their educational program, they may be able to apply for a discharge of their applicable federal student loans. This student loan forgiveness program is distinct from Defense to Repayment.

This is an active, evolving story – so stay tuned for updates.