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Judge Orders That Department of Education Cannot Resume Issuing Borrower Defense Denials Without Notifying Court and Borrowers | Press Release
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“Attacking the Concept of Debt” | Harvard Magazine
7,200 Borrowers Cheated by Corinthian Colleges to Finally Secure Debt Relief as Education Department Drops Legal Appeal | Press Release
Former for-profit college students today secured a long-awaited victory as the U.S. Department of Education filed a motion dropping its appeal in Vara v. Cardona (formerly Vara v. DeVos) and will comply with a federal court order to grant the Massachusetts Attorney General’s borrower defense application on behalf of 7,200 borrowers who attended Massachusetts Everest schools, which were part of the Corinthian Colleges chain. The decision sets the precedent that group borrower defense applications filed by state attorneys general on behalf of defrauded borrowers are valid and must be decided by the Department.
Biden Administration Drops Appeal of Legal Decision Granting former Corinthian Colleges Students Debt Relief | Washington Post
A group of 7,200 former students of the defunct for-profit chain Corinthian Colleges will have their federal student loans canceled after the Education Department agreed Thursday to drop its appeal of a court order to clear their debts. The decision arrives more than a year after a federal judge ruled that the students in Massachusetts were entitled to a full discharge of their loans under a statute known as borrower defense to repayment. The Trump administration fought the order and brought the case to a standstill, but borrowers were hopeful the Biden administration would concede.
“We are calling on the Department to do what is right when it sees evidence of widespread fraud” – Statement on Approval Of Additional Student Borrower Defense Claims
Department of Education announced that it will approve borrower defense applications for a select 1,800 student borrowers who attended the predatory for-profit colleges of Westwood, Marinello, and the Court Reporting Institute. It will cancel all outstanding loan balances for these individuals, wiping out approximately $55.5 million in predatory student loan debt.
Is This A Game Changer For Student Loan Cancellation? | Forbes
The hiring of a new assistant general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education who co-authored a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) supporting wide-scale student loan cancellation shouldn’t be interpreted as the Biden administration will now “automatically” enact wide-scale student loan forgiveness.
Biden Education Department Hires Vocal Proponent of Canceling Student Debt | The Hill
The Biden administration has hired a vocal proponent of canceling student debt for a key post in the Education Department. The Education Department hired Toby Merrill to serve as deputy general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel, the agency said in a statement.
Yahoo Finance Video Senators Urge Education Department to Fix Student Loan Forgiveness Programs | Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance’s Aarthi Swaminathan joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel top discuss Senators urging the Education Department to fix forgiveness programs as payment cliff nears.
Professor Who Backed Warren’s Debt Cancellation Plan Appointed for Education Department Role | Yahoo
A Harvard law professor who said the education secretary has legal authority to forgive $50,000 in student debt per person as Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed was appointed to serve in the Department of Education’s legal division. Toby Merrill, founder of the Project on Predatory Student Lending, which provides legal representation to low-income borrowers against for-profit schools, will serve as the deputy general counsel within the Education Department’s Office of General Counsel, the agency announced Tuesday.
Biden’s Education Dept. Just Hired Elizabeth Warren’s Student-Loans Expert, Who Studied Predatory Lending at Harvard | Business Insider
A new hire at the Education Department is another in the growing number of experts who have fought alongside Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to reform the student-loan debt system. Toby Merrill, founder of the Project of Predatory Student Lending at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, was hired as the Education Department’s Deputy General Counsel in the Office of the General Counsel on Tuesday, according to a press release.
Did The Biden Administration Just Send A Big Signal On Student Loan Cancellation? | Forbes
The Biden administration may have just given proponents of broad student loan forgiveness a reason to hold out hope that the President will take action on student debt. The U.S. Department of Education announced this week that it would be hiring Toby Merrill as Deputy General Counsel. Merrill previously founded and directed the Project on Predatory Student Lending, a legal services organization that represents low-income borrowers who have been harmed by the predatory practices of for-profit schools.
Debt Cancellation Backer at Harvard Named to Education Post | Bloomberg Law
A vocal proponent of canceling student loan debt is joining the Biden administration in a top role at the Education Department’s Office of the General Counsel. Toby Merrill, who founded and directed the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard Law School, will serve as deputy general counsel. The Education Department announced her hiring, along with several other political appointees, on Tuesday.