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Changes the Education Department is proposing to the forms borrowers have to fill out to have their loans forgiven when they have been defrauded by their institutions could deter some from applying, said Democrats on the House education committee Monday.
Under the borrower-defense rule, the Education Department examines whether students in an institution’s program were harmed by misconduct, like falsely advertising students’ chances of finding well-paying jobs after graduation.
However, in March, the Education Department proposed making a number of changes to the application form, including asking those applying for relief how they were individually harmed by their institution’s conduct, the Democrats wrote in a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
That “may deter a borrower with a valid claim from completing or submitting the application,” wrote the Democrats, led by education committee chairman Bobby Scott.
Other changes DeVos is making to the Obama administration program, which will raise the standards for defrauded borrowers to win loan forgiveness, will go into effect for those taking out loans after July 1. The old standards will continue to apply to those who took out loans earlier. However, DeVos is proposing to add questions to the form, without making it clear that they only apply to the new borrowers, the Democrats said.
For example, the proposed changes include asking applicants to acknowledge that if all of their debt is discharged, their institution may refuse to verify or to provide an official transcript that show the student completed credits at the institution.
