What PPSL Fought For in 2025 – And What Comes Next
As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect on a year of fierce advocacy, strategic litigation, and commitment to student borrowers. In a rapidly shifting federal policy landscape, PPSL has stood with borrowers to defend their rights and call for accountability from servicers, private lenders, and the federal government.
Defending the Sweet Borrower Defense Settlement
Our team continued to fight in court for full implementation of the landmark Sweet v. McMahon settlement — in multiple status hearings throughout the year, and earlier this month after the Department of Education requested an 18-month extension just weeks before the deadline to issue decisions on Post-Class Applications. We were proud to earn a critical victory for borrowers, as Judge Alsup rejected this request.
Holding Servicers Accountable
PPSL’s litigation against MOHELA continued to yield important wins. In Maldonado v. MOHELA, the federal court twice denied MOHELA’s attempts to dismiss borrowers’ claims that it unlawfully failed to process borrower defense group discharges ordered by the Department of Education, reinforcing that the law is on the side of borrowers.
Taking on private lenders, PPSL also filed a class action lawsuit against Navient for arbitrarily denying borrowers’ discharge applications despite evidence of school misconduct — highlighting once again the need for stronger enforcement of borrower protections. This case settled in October 2025.
Challenging a Deceptive Online Program
In a major step in Luna v. USC, PPSL filed a motion for certification of a class of students who attended the University of Southern California’s online Master of Social Work program. After a year spent gathering documents from USC and taking depositions of administrators, PPSL marshaled this evidence to show the court why all students in the proposed class were harmed by USC’s alleged misconduct. The court will hear argument on the motion in spring 2026.
Launching the Borrower-Led Community Action Council
PPSL launched the Community Action Council (CAC), a borrower-led advocacy initiative dedicated to elevating the voices of those most directly affected by predatory practices in higher education. Together, we hosted a Student Borrower Town Hall that brought together hundreds of borrowers to share their challenges navigating repayment and relief, and we visited Capitol Hill so that CAC members could share their stories with their elected representatives. The CAC has played a critical role in spotlighting the urgent issues borrowers face today, and we are proud of the leadership and contributions of this accomplished group.
Spotlighting Critical Policy Issues
A major policy debate emerged this year over the future of the $1.6 trillion federal student loan portfolio. The federal government signaled intentions to potentially move or sell this massive portfolio to a private buyer. PPSL has been analyzing and warning about the implications of such proposals, including the impact on borrower protections and public accountability.
Millions of people also have been struggling with false, misleading, or outdated credit reporting tied to their federal student loans. Due to systemic failures by the Department of Education and its contractors, loan data is routinely misreported to credit agencies. Learn more about the credit crisis.
Real more about PPSL’s 2025 successes in the news.
Looking ahead to 2026
PPSL remains steadfast in our mission: to end predatory practices in higher education, defend borrower rights, and deliver the relief student borrowers are legally owed.
This is only made possible by the generosity of our partners, allies, and supporters. As PPSL’s work becomes more critical than ever in the year ahead, please consider a year-end or recurring gift of any size. Your contribution powers us to pursue justice for student borrowers..
