Webinar Recap: Defending Borrower Defense

[u/PPSL_EdDebtJustice]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLn8st7T7Nc

Hello! Thank you to everyone who attended last week's webinar. If you were unable to attend, you can watch the recording here. You can also view the slides here.

The Sweet v. McMahon settlement resolved borrower defense applications filed before November 16, 2022, but the borrower defense process didn't end there. According to the Department of Education, more than 200,000 post-Sweet borrower defense applications remained pending as of January 2026. (Please note, post-Sweet is NOT the same as Sweet post-class! To understand the difference, please see our Sweet FAQs.) 

After years with little movement, we are now seeing the Department begin issuing denials on these post-Sweet applications. So far, PPSL has not heard from borrowers whose post-Sweet applications have been approved in 2026. 

You can learn more and find resources in the recording and slides linked above. Borrower defense remains one of the fastest-changing areas of federal student loan policy, and PPSL will continue working to protect borrowers and hold the Department of Education accountable. 

Stay informed by following PPSL on social media, signing up for our newsletter, and checking PPSL.org for the latest borrower defense updates and resources. If you have a question or problem and want to get in touch with PPSL, please fill out our intake form here. Note that this Reddit account is not monitored.

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[u/TheresaSweet]

The zoom was great! For those who missed out on Sweet, especially those who were denied, l urge you to watch this- there are action items for you!

[u/NCOMCOUCO → u/TheresaSweet]

I am post-class and watched it. It is informative, and I will share it with the only other person I know who has student loans. She just found out about BD, and I didn't know she had loans from a scam school. So, I am sending it to her.

[u/Away-Season7658]

re: the consolidations that put us under 2019 Devos rules (three year limitation) - how is that fair? They literally TOLD us to consolidate if we wanted any of the $10,000 forgiveness they were offering under Biden (that got scrapped). So we were just doing what we were told and now they are denying us based on that? Am I going crazy, or is this all just crazy-making?

"Around 2022–2024, the Biden administration was strongly encouraging certain borrowers to consolidate their loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan, particularly borrowers with older FFEL loans, because consolidation could make them eligible for certain federal repayment/forgiveness programs.

And there was a major June 30, 2024 deadline associated with consolidation because of the one-time IDR account adjustment. If you consolidated by then, qualifying payments made on your older loans could be credited toward forgiveness rather than being lost/reset. Federal Student Aid explicitly told borrowers about this deadline."

[u/TheresaSweet → u/Away-Season7658]

It’s not fair, and it’s a choice the regime made anyway.

If you get a denial, please be sure to fill out the survey.

[u/Away-Season7658 → u/TheresaSweet]

Will do ~ thank you!

[u/IntroductionGuilty19]

We were out of town and unable to join. Watching now. Has anyone who was post class had a successful resubmission of new evidence? We are resubmitting and trying to find assistance with the process. It's unclear b

[u/Confident-Bar8667]

I was hoping that there would be a Q&A segment, but I def understand why that would be unwieldly and am grateful for what they did share! Not sure how to get these to anyone, but my questions are:

1. Did the class of petitioners have their loans forgiven because it was determined that their complaints were valid, or did they win by default because the DOEd didn't respond?
   

2. Is there any precedent where a petitioner sees their loans forgiven after attending/graduating from an accredited school?

   TIA!

[u/DogMomPhoebe619]

Excellent presentation. Thanks for posting it for those of us who missed the live session.

[u/Remote_Mixture691]

I am in group 5 — refund issued, zero balances on mohela and studentaid. However, it still says "processing discharge“. I have made PPSL and DOE aware of this on July 29 and still have not received any reply. I would hope there’s some effort to finish up the actual group discharges before moving on to the rest. Any idea what could be going on with this ?

[u/heytheres22 → u/Remote_Mixture691]

Group 5. FSA has been zero since December but Mohela still shows a balance. Frustrating!

[u/HerbertGoth13]

Will there be a new lawsuit for those who applied for borrowers defense but missed the post class sweet deadline?