In response to the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Application, the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) submitted a comment urging the Department to finalize the proposed application and begin to implement the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act quickly and to the fullest extent possible, ensuring that all borrowers receive access to vital student debt relief benefits with no further delay.
The comment urges the Department to simplify the proposed application in order to streamline the review process, provide plain language descriptions of what is required to successfully navigate through the process, and ensure that servicer misconduct cannot derail or delay the process of borrowers receiving the relief they are entitled to under the law. The comment also highlights how the Department can reduce the administrative burden these borrowers will face when applying to have their loans separated, reiterating the best strategies put forward by the Biden Administration.
In addition, the National Education Association (NEA) and SBPC led a coalition comment that urged the Department to swiftly finalize the proposed Application and begin to implement this vital benefit for tens of thousands of spousal consolidation borrowers. This comment was joined by 31 organizations, consisting of civil rights, consumer, disability, labor unions, legal aid, student loan borrowers, and advocacy organizations.
Read the SBPC Comment: SBPC’s Comment on Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Application
Read the NEA-SBPC Led Coalition Comment: Coalition Comment on Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Application