PPSL v. U.S. Department of Education

PPSL filed this lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education after the agency failed to respond to fifteen FOIA requests seeking records about its implementation of group discharges. 

Between April 2022 and January 2025, the Department announced ten group discharges for borrowers who attended schools that it determined had engaged in widespread misconduct. Those announcements promised automatic student loan relief to more than 1.5 million borrowers, totaling more than $23 billion in federal student loan debt. 

PPSL submitted its first five FOIA requests in November 2023 seeking records related to the Department's implementation of several of those group discharges. In April 2025, PPSL submitted ten additional requests covering more recently announced group discharges and updated implementation data. The requests seek records including internal Department policies, guidance provided to student loan servicers, communications about implementing the discharges, audits or reviews of the process, and records showing how many approved borrowers still have outstanding federal student loans. 

Although the Department acknowledged receiving all fifteen requests, it failed to make determinations or produce responsive records despite the deadlines established by FOIA. This lawsuit asks the court to order the Department to comply with its obligations under federal law.

Usually, when a school misleads students into enrolling and taking out federal student loans, borrowers must apply to the Department of Education for borrower defense to repayment to request cancellation of their loans. But when the Department determines that a school engaged in widespread misconduct affecting large groups of students, it can announce a group discharge, providing automatic relief without requiring individual borrowers to apply.  

Between April 2022 and January 2025, the Department announced ten group discharges for borrowers who attended schools that it determined had engaged in widespread misconduct, including Marinello Schools of Beauty, Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute, Westwood College, CollegeAmerica, the Art Institutes, Ashford University, schools owned by the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE), Drake College of Business, and certain Lincoln Technical Institute programs.  

In each announcement, the Department identified widespread misconduct by the schools, stated that approved borrowers would automatically receive federal student loan discharges and any other applicable relief, and told borrowers they did not need to take any further action. 

PPSL has continued to hear from hundreds of borrowers who are approved for these group discharges but whose federal student loans remain outstanding.  

For more information about the Department's group discharges, including covered schools, eligibility, and frequently asked questions, visit PPSL's Group Discharges page.

• July 1, 2026: Complaint