PPSL Sues Department of Education for Records on Promised Student Loan Relief
After the Department failed to respond to 15 FOIA requests, some pending for over two years, PPSL seeks records on relief promised to more than 1.5 million borrowers
BOSTON (July 1, 2026) – The Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL) today sued the U.S. Department of Education for records about the agency's implementation of group discharges announced between 2022 and 2025, after the Department failed to respond to fifteen Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, some of which have been pending for more than two years.
Those group discharge announcements granted automatic student loan discharges to more than 1.5 million borrowers, totaling more than $23 billion in federal student loan debt, but the Department has released virtually no information about whether that relief has been delivered.
"The Department made public promises to more than 1.5 million borrowers. It shouldn't take a lawsuit to learn whether those promises have been fulfilled," said Eileen Connor, President and Executive Director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending. "Borrowers and the public have a right to know whether the Department has delivered the relief it announced."
PPSL submitted its first five FOIA requests in November 2023, seeking records related to the Department's implementation of group discharges for borrowers who attended Corinthian Colleges, ITT Technical Institute, Marinello Schools of Beauty, Westwood College, and CollegeAmerica locations in Colorado. In April 2025, PPSL submitted ten additional requests covering more recently announced group discharges for the Art Institutes, Ashford University, Drake College of Business, schools owned by Centers for Excellence in Higher Education, and certain campuses of Lincoln Technical Institute, as well as 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.
The Department acknowledged receiving all fifteen requests but has failed to make determinations or produce responsive records, despite the deadlines established by FOIA and the passing of the agency's own estimated processing timeline.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the Department to conduct searches for responsive records, produce all non-exempt responsive records, and comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.
Background
Between April 2022 and January 2025, the Department of Education 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 continues to hear from hundreds of borrowers who are approved for these group discharges but whose federal student loans remain outstanding.
About the Project on Predatory Student Lending
The Project on Predatory Student Lending (PPSL) is the leading legal organization representing student borrowers against predatory for-profit colleges and the policies that enable institutions to exploit and cheat students. PPSL uses bold, strategic litigation and advocacy to demand accountability in the higher education space and influence policy solutions to create a more just and affordable education system. PPSL represents more than two million student borrowers and its work has resulted in the cancellation of more than $30 billion of fraudulent student loan debt.
