Federal Appeals Court blocks SAVE program’s student loan forgiveness

Higher education is believed by many to be a bridge to a financially secure future. But for the more than 43 million Americans who together owe $1.6 trillion in student debt, that bridge gets longer and harder to cross when federal courts continue to block programs designed to relieve borrowers of the rising costs of loan repayment.Until recently, student loan borrowers enrolled in the Education Department’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) payments cut in half and their remaining loan balances forgiven. The SAVE Plan offered forgiveness for qualified borrowers with loans up to $12,000 and promised that loan balances would not increase due to accrued interest if borrowers remained current on required payments. The Plan changed income calculations so that more borrowers would qualify for reduced payments – sometimes as low as $0. About 8 million borrowers are enrolled in the SAVE Plan.But on July 18th, the Federal 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary stay to halt the SAVE program. It is not yet known when a final court resolution will occur.The decision came at the behest of several conservative state attorneys general. To date, 18 states – including those with large Black and Latino populations like...