# Press Releases

- Biden-Harris Administration Releases State-by-State Breakdown of $1.2 Billion in SAVE Plan Forgiveness The Biden-Harris  Administration today is publishing a state-by-state breakdown of the nearly  153,000 borrowers who are receiving $1.2 billion in forgiveness under President  Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. Servicers started  processing this forgiveness today.
- Biden-Harris Administration Approves $1.2 Billion in Loan Forgiveness for Over 150,000 SAVE Plan Borrowers The Biden-Harris Administration today is announcing that it will automatically  discharge $1.2 billion in loans for nearly 153,000 borrowers who are eligible for the shortened time to forgiveness benefit under President Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. This action comes as 7.5 million borrowers are now enrolled in SAVE, 4.3 million of whom have a $0 monthly payment.
- U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Releases New Resources on Students with Disabilities The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) released four new  resources today with information for students, parents and families, and schools addressing civil rights of students with disabilities, as well as a  data snapshot about education access for students with disabilities drawn from  OCR’s 2020-21 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC).
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Next Steps on Rulemaking to Provide Debt Relief to Student Loan Borrowers Experiencing Hardship The Biden-Harris Administration today released new proposed regulatory text focused on providing debt relief for borrowers facing hardship on their student loans.  In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on the Administration's original  student debt relief plan last summer, President Biden announced a new path to  provide debt relief for as many borrowers as possible under the Department of  Education’s existing rulemaking authorities. The text will be discussed as part  of a negotiated rulemaking session on February 22 and 23.
- FACT SHEET: U.S. Department of Education Releases 2023 Update to Equity Action Plan, Outlines New Commitments to Advance Equity The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released its 2023 Update to its Equity Action Plan, in coordination with the Biden-Harris Administration's whole-of-government equity agenda.
- Biden-Harris  Administration Holds First-Ever Interagency Youth Policy Summit: Cultivating  Possibilities The Biden-Harris Administration brought together nearly 90 young people from across the nation at the U.S. Department of Education today for the first-ever interagency Youth Policy Summit: Cultivating Possibilities.
- U.S. Department of Education Announces Latest Steps to Support Schools and Students with Better FAFSA U.S. Department of Education Announces Latest Steps to Support Schools and Students with Better FAFSA®
- Federal Student Aid Reaches Settlement Agreement with International Education Corporation for Student Aid Eligibility Violations The U.S. Department of Education today announced a settlement agreement with for-profit  school owner International Education Corporation (IEC) and its subsidiaries –  Florida Career College (FCC) and United Education Institute (UEI), which also  uses the brand name, UEI College (UEIC) – related to violations of the  ability-to-benefit (ATB) test regulations. These regulations  govern eligibility to receive federal student aid for students who do not have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.
- U.S. Department of Education Deploys Federal Personnel, Funding, and Resources to Support Colleges, Students, and Families with Better FAFSA® The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released a FAFSA College  Support Strategy to provide additional personnel, funding, resources, and  technology to help schools and students complete the better FAFSA form and to  help colleges prepare to process student records as quickly and accurately as  possible. The Department’s top priority is to ensure students can access the  maximum financial aid possible to help them pursue their higher education goals  and bring college in reach for more Americans. Since the new 2024–25 FAFSA form  became available on Dec.
- Biden-Harris Administration Continues Rulemaking Process to Provide Debt Relief for More Student Loan Borrowers The Biden-Harris Administration today announced that it will  hold an additional negotiated rulemaking session on February 22 and 23 focused  on the issue of providing relief for borrowers experiencing hardship. This  session is a continuation of the critical work that started last summer when  the Administration announced it would be pursuing a new regulatory process to  deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible.
- U.S. Department of Education Announces More Than 3.1 Million FAFSA Forms Successfully Submitted and an Update to Student Aid Index Calculation The  U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released new data that shows  more than 3.1 million Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®)  forms have been successfully submitted since the 2024–25 redesigned application  went live on Dec. 30. The new data comes a little more than three weeks after  the Department announced more than one million FAFSA forms had been submitted  and the form’s 24/7 accessibility. 
- U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Reaches Agreement to Resolve Antisemitic Harassment in Red Clay Consolidated School District The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) resolved a complaint of antisemitic harassment of a student filed against the Red Clay Consolidated School District  in Delaware in June 2023. The district entered into an agreement to ensure it  complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when responding to discrimination  based on race, color, and national origin, including antisemitic  harassment of its students.
- U.S. Department of Education Issues New Resource for School Administrators on Importance of Safe Firearm Storage Safe storage  of firearms is an important prevention tool that can be used to help keep  schools, homes, and communities safe from gun violence. To build further  awareness of this important strategy, today the Readiness and Emergency  Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance (TA) Center, funded by the  U.S. Department of Education (Department), is releasing a new resource that  schools can use to communicate with parents and families about the importance  of safe firearm storage, and encourage more people to take preventive action by  safely storing firearms.
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces $25M in Grant Awards to Advance  Career Connected High Schools The Biden-Harris Administration today is  announcing 19 new grant awards totaling $25 million through the first-ever Perkins Innovation and Modernization, Career Connected High Schools (CCHS) grant program.
- U.S. Department of Education Releases 2024 National Educational Technology Plan The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today released the 2024 National  Educational Technology Plan (NETP): A Call to  Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design and Use Divides. First released in fulfillment of the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994, NETP has been updated multiple times since its original release, most recently in 2016.
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces Additional $4.9 Billion in Approved Student Debt Relief The  Biden-Harris Administration announced today the approval of $4.9 billion in  additional student loan debt relief for 73,600 borrowers. These discharges are  the result of fixes made by the Administration to income-driven repayment (IDR)  forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).Today’s announcement  brings the total loan forgiveness approved by the Biden-Harris Administration  to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million Americans.
- Biden-Harris Administration to Shorten Path to Debt Cancellation for Some SAVE Borrowers New  data show 6.9 million borrowers are enrolled in the Administration’s most  affordable repayment plan 
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $6 Million in New Grants to Address Community Violence and its Impacts on Student Mental Health Today,  Vice President Kamala Harris announced $6.4 million from the U.S. Department of  Education (Department) to address community violence. The funding is being  awarded to seven school districts across the country as part of the Project  Prevent grant program. The Vice President will make the announcement in  Charlotte, North Carolina, where she will be joined by U.S. Secretary of  Education Miguel Cardona to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts  to reduce gun violence and expand access to mental health services for  students.
- U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Announces Resolution of Sexual Harassment Investigation of San Francisco Conservatory of Music The U.S.  Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today announced that  the San Francisco Conservatory of Music has entered into a resolution agreement  to ensure its compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972,  when responding to allegations of student-to-student sexual harassment,  including sexual assault and stalking. OCR investigated whether the  Conservatory responded consistent with Title IX to a student’s complaint that  another student had sexually assaulted her twice and then stalked her in  2022.
- U.S. Department of Education Announces Over 1 Million 2024-2025 FAFSA Forms Successfully Submitted and Form Now Available 24/7 for Students and Families The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today  announced that it has received over one million applications from students  using the redesigned 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form and  that the form is now available for students and families to access 24 hours a  day, seven days a week. Students and their families can use the 2024–25 FAFSA  form to apply for federal financial aid to attend college between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025.
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Additional Action to Hold Student Loan Servicers Accountable for Failing to Meet Contractual Obligations The  Biden-Harris Administration today announced it is withholding payments to three  student loan servicers as part of the U.S. Department of Education’s  (Department) continued efforts to strengthen protections for student loan  borrowers and hold servicers accountable. The Department has found that  Aidvantage, EdFinancial, and Nelnet all failed to meet contractual obligations  to send timely billing statements to a combined total of 758,000 borrowers for  the first month of repayment.
- Biden-Harris Administration Announces $47 Million in New Funding to Support School Infrastructure Investments The Biden-Harris Administration announced eight new grant awards today  totaling more than $37 million over five years under the Supporting America’s School Infrastructure (SASI) program  and one new grant for $10 million over five years under the National Center on School Infrastructure (NCSI)
- Biden-Harris Administration Takes Next Steps on Rulemaking to Strengthen Institutional Quality and Program Integrity The Biden-Harris  Administration today moved forward in its efforts to help ensure students are  well served by the institutions of higher education they attend and that  Federal Student Aid programs work in their best interest. Today, the U.S.  Department of Education (Department) released six issue papers across a range  of categories to further these goals, which will be discussed during the first  meeting of the Institutional Quality and Program Integrity Committee, meeting  January 8-11.
- Biden-Harris Administration Awards $44.5 Million to Improve Postsecondary Education Access and Completion for Students in Rural Communities The Biden-Harris Administration today announced $44.5 million in grants to 22 institutions of higher education to improve rates of postsecondary education enrollment, persistence, and completion among students in rural communities. The Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development (RPED) grant program promotes the development of high-quality career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region.
- Statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the Recent Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Collection The National Center for Education Statistics today released the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). IPEDS gathers information annually from U.S. college, university, and technical and vocational institutions eligible to participate in any of the Title IV federal student financial aid programs.Below is a statement from U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on the results: