A judge has blocked part of a Biden era policy to forgive student loans.

The multi-state lawsuit was brought on by seven states including Arkansas, represented by Attorney General Tim Griffin. The suit was against President Joe Biden, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and the Department of Education.

The Savings on Valuable Education or “SAVE” plan changes the income threshold for paying back student loans. The plan also forgives loan borrowers after 120 payments if their balances are below $12,000. U.S. District Judge John Ross blocked that part of the law relating to loan forgiveness. It was set to take effect on July 1, and would have amounted to billions in loan forgiveness.

Judge blocks part of SAVE loan forgiveness plans after Arkansas sues

*Susan Haejin Lee/NPR*
Billions in student debt will not be forgiven after a judge blocked parts of the SAVE plan from going into effect.

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Billions of dollars in student loan debt owed by Arkansans could be forgiven as a result of the Biden Administration’s new student loan forgiveness plan.

The plan, announced Wednesday, aims to cancel $10,000 of student debt for most people making less than $125,000 a year. It would also forgive $20,000 of debt for recipients of Pell Grants, which are typically for undergraduate college students with “exceptional financial need.”

Tony Williams is director of the Arkansas Student Loan Authority, a division of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority and the state Department of Commerce. Speaking with KUAR News, he said a lot of Arkansans stand to benefit from the debt relief plan.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2022-08-26/biden-loan-forgiveness-plan-could-erase-3-billion-in-arkansas-student-debt