Major updates: student debt relief progress and new fact sheets (SBPC)

The fight for student loan borrowers continues! In the last remaining days of the Biden-Harris Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is pushing some final relief through for student loan borrowers, new Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment payment counts are live, and we have new fact sheets shedding light on the impact of the student debt crisis on borrowers. Here’s a roundup of the latest: Over 5 million borrowers have been freed from student debt. In a major win for borrowers, ED announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has now approved $183.6 billion in student debt discharges via various student debt relief fixes and programs. This relief has now reached over 5 million borrowers and includes new approvals for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) relief, borrower defense relief, and Total and Permanent Disability Discharge relief. This relief is life-changing for millions of families, proving the power of bold, decisive action on student debt. Yet, there is much more work to do. Every step toward relief underscores the need to continue fighting for policies that reduce the burden of student debt and ensure affordable access to higher education. Final phase of the IDR Account Adjustment is underway—take screenshots! In tandem with the latest cancellation efforts, ED has also finally started updating borrower payment counts on the Federal Student Aid dashboard. Providing official payment counts will help borrowers receive the credit they have earned towards cancellation under IDR, and ensure that all borrowers who have been forced to pay for 20 years or longer are automatically able to benefit from relief they are entitled to under federal law. ***If you are a borrower with federal student loans, we recommend that you check your dashboard on studentaid.gov, screenshot your new count, and save it in your records. Previously, many borrowers—including those who work in public service jobs and low-income borrowers struggling to afford payments—were steered into costly deferments and forbearance, preventing them from reaching the 20 years or longer for IDR relief or the 120 payments necessary for PSLF cancellation. Under the IDR Account Adjustment, these periods are now counted, even if borrowers were mistakenly placed in the wrong repayment plan or faced servicing errors.

New SBPC fact sheets on the student debt crisis are live. As the new administration and conservative congressional majority considers proposals that would roll back critical protections for student loan borrowers and make student loan debt even more expensive, we’re committed to protecting borrowers. We’ve released statewide and congressional-level snapshots of the student debt crisis to shine a light on the impact of student debt across the country.

These fact sheets provide granular data on: The number of borrowers and total student debt in each area Constituents benefiting from affordable repayment plans The life-changing impact of debt relief over the past four years We hope these snapshots offer critical context to help ensure new and returning policymakers understand the toll of student debt on their communities—and the urgent need for bold action to alleviate this crisis.

The fight to protect student loan borrowers continues. The new political dynamics of the 119th Congress raise the stakes for borrowers. Proposals to roll back protections, gut affordable repayment plans like the Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, and shift costs onto working families, threaten the progress we’ve made. But our coalition and community of borrowers and advocates are ready to stand strong together and continue protecting our wins while fighting for more.

Standing together, Persis Yu Deputy Executive Director & Managing Counsel Student Borrower Protection Center