Many college graduates are suffering from the result of the Trump administration’s decisions pertaining to the education system.
According to CNBC, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has filed an additional lawsuit in its ongoing fight for student loan borrowers. This teachers’ union represents 1.8 million members in five areas: “pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; and nurses and other healthcare professionals,” per its website.
The group’s decision to add another claim against the Trump administration is related to the directions given concerning student loan policies.
Did the Department of Education break its promise to student loan borrowers?
The class action suit claims the presidential cabinet is violating the lawful rights of loan recipients, who are supposed to have access to repayment plan options to decrease their debt owed to the Department of Education. As Blavity reported, the two arrangements that are no longer available are the income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, based on monthly earnings, expenses, and family, as well as Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Buy Back for civil officials and specific nonprofit foundation employees who have consistently paid their loans for 10 years.
The new legal action follows a lawsuit submitted in Washington by the teachers’ union in March, which focused on the Department of Education’s decision to cease the application process that allows loan holders to apply.
“The Department’s decision to withhold IDR and PSLF benefits is actively harming borrowers,” the AFT motion mentioned, according to CNBC.
What does the data reveal about delayed student loan relief?
To the plaintiff’s benefit, the Department of Education publishes research for the general public to see data about student loans. One aspect of the case’s court documents revealed that over one million IDR applicants and 72,730 PSLF requests have not moved beyond pending status since July 31. The approval process for both inquiries hasn’t been an efficient one, as staff have been completing an average of 87,823 reviews per month.
“At this rate, borrowers may have to wait years to receive the benefits that Congress directed should be provided to them,” The AFT petition notes, per CNBC.
The plaintiffs of this latest class action lawsuit have various amounts of debt, with one’s loan debt amount nearly $200,000. Two of the listed accusers who have been eligible for debt cancellation are stuck making payments while they’re applications are living in limbo.
Mark Kantrowitz, a scholar of education, told CNBC that “the backlog provides evidence that the U.S. Department of Education is not adequately fulfilling the statutory requirements” to provide flexible pathways for debt reimbursement, made possible at any income level.