Education Department , Now Excluding Some Borrowers , From Student Debt Relief.<br />The United States Department of Education has released new <br />guidelines that prevent certain federal student loan borrowers <br />from qualifying for the student loan forgiveness program.<br />NBC reports that the update to the Education Department's guidance for one-time student debt relief is a complete reversal of previous guidelines.<br />Previously, the department said that borrowers whose loans were not held by the Department of Education could consolidate their debt into Direct Loans in order to qualify.<br />According to an administration official, <br />the number of borrowers affected <br />by this decision is about 770,000.<br />In August, President Joe Biden announced a sweeping <br />student loan forgiveness program that included <br />up to $10,000 for federal student loan borrowers.<br />There are an estimated 5 million "overlooked borrowers" <br />with commercially-held Federal Family Education Loan Program <br />(FFEL) loans who have been excluded from debt forgiveness.<br />Those with FFEL loans were also excluded <br />from the federal student loan payment pause <br />that was in effect throughout the COVID pandemic.<br />On September 29, news of the policy change was met with fierce criticism from borrowers and student loan experts on social media.<br />According to the Department of Education's website, work <br />is under way to determine if an alternative pathway to debt <br />relief can be found for those with FFEL Program loans
