ED Releases Guidance on Borrower Defense School Notification Process
Maria Carrasco
November 13, 2023
The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday released guidance to institutions on the borrower defense process after the Sweet v. Cardona settlement, as aid offices this fall reported concerns over an increase of borrower defense notifications.
Sweet v. Cardona, originally dubbed Sweet v. DeVos, is a class action lawsuit filed in 2019 by seven plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and federal student loan borrowers with pending borrower defense claims. The lawsuit sought for the Trump administration to issue decisions on a backlog of pending borrower defense claims.
In an electronic announcement posted last week, ED clarified that as part of the Sweet v. Cardona settlement, ED is sending institutions notices of borrower defense applications received from June 23, 2022, to Nov. 15, 2022. The Sweet v. Cardona settlement requires ED to adjudicate these applications under the 2016 borrower defense regulation, which requires ED to notify institutions of all borrower defense applications before they are reviewed.
ED noted that the reason institutions are notified of all applications before any substantive review is because the 2016 regulation requires fact-finding prior to adjudicating applications. The notification process to institutions is a part of that fact-finding, according to ED.
