FEDERAL JUDGE ISSUES RULING ON BORROWER DEFENSE SETTLEMENT DEADLINES
A federal judge denied the Department of Education’s request for an 18-month extension to decide pending borrower defense claims covered under a 2022 settlement, keeping key deadlines largely in place. The ruling requires the department to issue timely decisions or provide automatic relief for borrowers who attended institutions previously identified as having engaged in substantial misconduct, while granting a short extension for resolving other claims. The affected borrowers are part of the final group covered by the settlement, which was designed to address longstanding delays in borrower defense adjudications.
