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New U.S. Department of Education rules, effective July 1, 2020, create complexity as to applicable requirements concerning the borrower defense discharge, the closed school discharge, and school use of mandatory arbitration clauses. This article explains varying rules for loans issued prior to July 1, 2017, from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020, and after July 1, 2020.

This article describes new major relief for student loan borrowers: $10,000 or $20,000 for millions of borrowers, and added relief for those in public service, in default, with disabilities, attending specific schools, with private loans, or with IDR plans. New loan servicers and no more private debt collectors. The article links to more detail and sets out steps borrowers should take now to make the most of the offered relief.

Forty-five million borrowers are scrambling to figure out options for managing their federal student loans before repayments resume this fall. This article sets out new student loan rights: fresh starts for those in default; the SAVE repayment plan; lower interest charges; avoidance of school arbitration provisions; and easier paths to public service loan forgiveness, bankruptcy discharges, and five types of statutory loan cancellations.