2022 Delivers Historic Wins for Student Borrowers | Blog

It has been a historic year for PPSL and our clients, with big changes for our organization and even bigger wins for student borrowers. In 2022 alone, our clients and PPSL’s litigation helped deliver more than $15 billion in debt cancellation for hundreds of thousands of borrowers who were misled by their schools. These massive victories are the result of years of dedication from our clients, who never gave up hope or backed down. We could not be more proud and inspired by their efforts. 

Victory in Sweet v. Cardona 

Just last week, Judge Alsup issued final settlement approval in Sweet v. Cardona (previously Sweet v. DeVos). Under the settlement, the Department of Education agreed to automatically cancel more than $6 billion in student debts for more than 200,000 borrowers who had been waiting years for the Department to process their borrower defense claims.  

The case, which was filed in 2019, was borrower-driven from the start, and our clients stuck with it through many ups and downs. In addition to securing billions in debt cancellation, they exposed a fundamentally broken borrower defense system and helped chart a more fair and accountable process for borrowers going forward. We continue to stand with them in this fight for justice.  

“Too often in this country, regular people can only sit on the sidelines and watch in horror as our rights are trampled… Approval of this settlement would serve to show that it is possible for us to fight back - that we can hold government agencies accountable and that PEOPLE are more important than greedy corporations.” - Theresa Sweet  

“This settlement unlocks the door and sets a precedent that the Department needs to protect students and hold schools accountable. We live in a country of laws and we can’t let schools or the Department break the law and put profits over people.” - Tarah Gramza  

Read more from class members here. 

Canceling Corinthian and ITT Debts 

This summer, the Department of Education announced it will eliminate all federal student loan debts from Corinthian and ITT — totaling nearly $10 billion in loan cancellation for more than 1 million borrowers. PPSL has been pushing to wipe out debts from these notoriously fraudulent schools for years, through our litigation and advocacy.  

Our report, Dreams Destroyed: How ITT Technical Institute Defrauded a Generation of Students, detailed the massive scale of fraud and abuse by the defunct for-profit college. As our client Jorge Villalba, the named plaintiff in the ITT bankruptcy case, put it:  

“Students should not be held accountable for ITT and the decades of damage that they have created. There are thousands of families that have separated due to debt, have fallen ill, and have irreparable damage drowning in debt – they deserve a second chance in life. ITT cheated us out of an education and killed our dream to one day get ahead. The time that we have wasted there can never be brought back. The pain and suffering that we have endured have no dollar value.”  

There is no doubt that these borrowers should have received debt relief years ago. But in securing justice this year, they accomplished something that many said was a pipe dream — making large-scale relief from fraudulent student debts a reality. Now, those families will finally get the fresh start they are owed. 

Read more: How Corinthian Students Won a $6B Loan Cancellation Battle 

Charting a path to more fair borrower defense regulations 

Throughout the year, borrowers kept up the pressure on the Department of Education, particularly through its negotiated rulemaking sessions on borrower defense. Many PPSL clients spoke up in these sessions to highlight their experiences with the broken borrower defense system and to emphasize the need for greater accountability.  

PPSL President and Director Eileen Connor also spoke in front of the committee and used part of her time to share Adnan Medic’s ITT story. Adnan stated: 

“This debt goes beyond just the lives of the students who attend the school. It’s a generational cost. I have two young kids and we are suffering financially because I can’t get out of this debt. At this rate, my children are going to end up paying the cost of a decision I shouldn’t have been given the option to make. It isn’t right, it isn’t fair, and the Department of Education has to do something about it.”  

And they did. The final Borrower Defense rule published by the Department of Education on Monday, October 31, which is set to take effect on July 1, 2023, reflects many of our clients’ voices, as well as the issues we’ve addressed through our litigation. It strengthens protections for borrowers and adds needed safeguards to the federal student lending process.   

Read more: 5 Key Takeaways from the New Borrower Defense Regulations 

PPSL begins a new chapter as an independent organization 

In addition to big client wins, PPSL also began a new chapter this year, relaunching as an independent non-profit organization and separating from the Legal Services Center at Harvard Law School, where PPSL was founded in 2012.  

Evolving to become a standalone organization is the natural next step in our growth, and we are thrilled to be embarking on this exciting new chapter, pursuing our mission to expose predatory behaviors in higher education and hold bad actors accountable for their harm to students.  

While we celebrate our shared successes today, we get back to work tomorrow, knowing how much work remains to be done.   

Thank you to everyone who has supported our mission. If you believe in PPSL’s work, please consider a donation today. We’re grateful for the community’s support to help us continue to represent borrowers and eliminate predatory practices in higher education.