Education Department to forgive $150M in student loans

The Department of Education announced Thursday its plans to forgive $150 million in federal student loan debt.

The department is implementing 2016 "borrower defense" regulations that Secretary Betsy DeVos had attempted to kill, Politico reported.

In September, a federal judge ruled in favor of former students who had been made false promises by schools or had attended schools that closed. But DeVos argued that the policies lacked ample borrower proof requirements, according to Politico.

A month later, the same judge rejected a request from for-profit colleges to block the policy.

Whose loans will be forgiven?

The department said it has identified about 15,000 people who are eligible for loan forgiveness due to "automatic closed school discharge based on attendance at a school that closed between Nov. 1, 2013, and Dec. 4, 2018."

In other words, the eligible borrowers were prevented from completing their programs because of the school's closure.

"About half of those borrowers received loans for attendance at Corinthian Colleges, Inc. (Corinthian) schools that closed on April 27, 2015," according to the release.

Corinthian borrowers account for about $80 million of the attributable loans, the release added.

How will the borrowers be notified?

The department will begin notifying affected borrowers by email, which will provide information regarding which loans will be forgiven, along with other details.

It could take up to 90 days to complete the discharges, although the release noted that some may take longer to complete. Loan holders will also provide official notifications to borrowers.