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Supreme Court To Hear Second Challenge To Student Aid Relief

The justices will hear two cases in February 2023 that may influence whether student loan forgiveness will be a thing or not.

The Supreme Court is preparing to hear another challenge to President Joe Bidenโ€™s student loan cancellation plan, marking the second time the high courtโ€™s justices have agreed to hear arguments about the plan.

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The most recent case comes from Texas, where two student loan borrowers, Myra Brown and Alexander Taylor, filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education arguing that the debt relief package was improperly rolled out because there was no โ€œnotice-and-commentโ€ period where individuals could weigh in on the proposal. Notably, Brown wasnโ€™t eligible for relief under the plan because it would only cover government-issued student loans while hers were privately-issued. Taylor would have been eligible but not for the full $20,000 the Biden Administrationโ€™s plan would have offered.

The federal judge who originally heard the case split the baby, ruling that it was OK that there was no notice-and-comment period but that the Education Department had nonetheless exceeded its authority, ultimately putting a stop to the program before any student debt could be forgiven.

While the program is in legal limbo, President Biden has put a workaround in place, extending the current pandemic-era moratorium on federal student loan payments through next June. Since it was due to expire at the end of this year, borrowers have another six monthsโ€™ reprieve before their payments restart, assuming the administration doesnโ€™t notch a legal win and save the program from a demise before the Supreme Court.

Conservative groups that oppose student loan forgiveness have taken a novel approach to challenging the program by enlisting individual students who donโ€™t qualify for student loan forgiveness to serve as proxies for their legal arguments. A group called the Job Creators Network Foundation is bankrolling Brown and Taylorโ€™s challenge to the program.Oral arguments before the Supreme Court in both cases are slated for February 2023.

Straight From The Root

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