Betsy DeVos cancels $150 million of student loan debt after losing court battle
WASHINGTON - The Department of Education said it will cancel $150 million of student loan debt, impacting about 15,000 people whose schools closed.
The Obama-era borrower defense relief program - which essentially ground to a halt under Education Secretary Betsy Devos - provided a path for people to seek forgiveness for federal student loans if a shuttered school violated specific laws or misled students.
DeVos was highly critical of the program, reportedly calling it a "free money" giveaway, and sought to change and delay the program. However, she was sued, and a federal judge ruled in September the program needed to "go into effect."
Those eligible for loan forgiveness must have been enrolled at the school when it closed and not enrolled at another Title-IV school within three years of the previous school's closing, according to the Education Department.
PLUS loans - which parents took out on behalf of children - could also be eligible for discharge.