Millions of Americans are awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The Supreme Court released several major decisions on Thursday, including a landmark and controversial opinion on affirmative action, but nothing on student loan forgiveness.
There are only three decisions from this term that have still yet to be released — including the two cases challenging Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. At the end of Thursday’s session, the court scheduled one more date for these remaining decisions to be issued: Friday, June 30th. This is the date that the rulings will be issued.
Millions Of Americans Are Waiting On Supreme Court Ruling On Student Loan Forgiveness
President Biden’s one-time student debt relief plan would provide up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness for over 30 million Americans. The program was first unveiled last August, but was quickly halted by the fall after two federal courts blocked the administration from issuing any relief. The Supreme Court agreed to take up appeals filed by the Biden administration.
At a hearing in February, a clear Supreme Court majority challenged the administration to justify the program’s legality under the HEROES Act, a 2003 statute that provides emergency authority to the Education Department to waive or modify federal student loan programs to mitigate economic harm.
But several justices also seemed skeptical that the challengers have standing, a constitutional requirement that parties show that they would be directly harmed by the challenged rule or policy. If the Court determines that the challengers don’t have standing, Biden’s student loan forgiveness program could survive, regardless of HEROES Act authority.
Supreme Court Released Several Important Decisions Potentially Relevant To Student Loan Forgiveness
The Supreme Court issued a landmark and controversial higher education decision on Thursday, ruling that considerations of race in higher education admissions is unconstitutional in most circumstances. The Court split along idealogical lines, with the conservative supermajority — led by Chief Justice John Roberts — overturning decades of precedent on affirmative action. The three liberal justices issued blistering dissents.
Other recently-issued Supreme Court decisions might provide some clues on the justices’ leanings regarding the student loan forgiveness cases. In two rulings from earlier in June, a majority on the court ruled that states did not have standing to sue the federal government to invalidate a federal rule or statute, or to force the government to enforce a rule in a particular way. Every case is different, but the legal conclusions in these two cases could easily be applied to the cases challenging Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.
When The Supreme Court Will Rule On Student Loan Forgiveness
The Supreme Court’s next — and final — decision release date is Friday, June 30th at 10 am Eastern Time. You can check the Court’s website to read the decision as soon as it gets officially published.
Further Student Loan Forgiveness Reading
If The Supreme Court Rejects Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan, Here Are Other Options
6 Key Student Loan Forgiveness And Repayment Dates To Write Down Now
30 Million Borrowers May Face New Problems As Student Loan Pause Ends
4 Big Student Loan Updates When Payments Resume (And They Resume Soon)
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