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200,000 student-loan borrowers were just granted $6 billion in debt relief after a federal judge approved a settlement with Biden's Education Department | Insider
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200,000 student-loan borrowers were just granted $6 billion in debt relief after a federal judge approved a settlement with Biden's Education Department | Insider

On Wednesday, federal Judge William Alsup granted final approval of a lawsuit — Sweet v. Cardona — filed in 2019 by student-loan borrowers who accused the Education Department at the time of failing to process their borrower defense to repayment applications. These are forms borrowers can file if they believe they were defrauded by the school they attended. If the department approves their forms, they would qualify to have their student loans discharged.

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Judge rules to erase the student loans of 200K borrowers who say they were ripped off | NPR
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Judge rules to erase the student loans of 200K borrowers who say they were ripped off | NPR

The lawsuit, Sweet v. Cardona (formerly Sweet v. DeVos), centered on a federal rule, known as borrower defense, that allows federal student loan borrowers to ask the department to erase their debts if a school has lied to them – about their job prospects, their credits' transferability or their likely salary after graduation.

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Student Borrowers Win Final Approval of Settlement to Cancel Over $6 Billion in Loans for 200,000 Borrowers
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Student Borrowers Win Final Approval of Settlement to Cancel Over $6 Billion in Loans for 200,000 Borrowers

Student borrowers today won final approval of a settlement with the US Department of Education in the class action lawsuit Sweet v. Cardona. The agreement, which received preliminary approval on August 4, 2022, states that the Department will immediately cancel at least $6 billion in student loans for approximately 200,000 individuals with pending borrower defense applications.

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The Borrower Stories Behind Sweet v Cardona | Student Loan Truth
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The Borrower Stories Behind Sweet v Cardona | Student Loan Truth

On November 9th, Sweet v. Cardona borrowers had the chance to attend the hearing for final settlement approval in person, with 1,000 of their fellow class members listening over Zoom. As we await the Court’s decision, expected to come within a week of the hearing, here are three class members’ stories.

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5 Key Takeaways from the New Borrower Defense Regulations
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5 Key Takeaways from the New Borrower Defense Regulations

The final Borrower Defense rule published by the Department of Education on Monday, October 31, which is set to take effect on July 1, 2023, reflects many of the issues we’ve advanced through our litigation, strengthening protections for borrowers and adding needed safeguards to the federal student lending process.  Here is PPSL’s take on how the new Borrower Defense (BD) rule will help borrowers.

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In Major Victory, ITT Students Secure Full Debt Cancellation | Press Release
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In Major Victory, ITT Students Secure Full Debt Cancellation | Press Release

In another major victory for defrauded former for-profit college students, today, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would fully discharge all remaining federal student loans for borrowers who attended ITT Technical Institute (ITT) from January 1, 2005, through its closure in September 2016. All told, this means 208,000 borrowers will receive $3.9 billion in full loan discharges.

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