Leawood, Kan. – September 17, 2026: The U.S. Department of Education has been notifying higher education institutions about borrower defense to repayment (BDR) claims that have been made by former students.
Rouse Frets White, P.C. has a team of skilled attorneys who are prepared to assist schools responding to any BDR claims they may receive. Chris DeLuca, chair of the firm’s Higher Education Practice Group, served as a member of the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking committees for both the 2016 and 2020 versions of the BDR regulations.
Based on the notices our attorneys have seen so far, the Department of Education is giving schools 60 days from the notification date to respond to these most recent BDR claims.
Under BDR, borrowers seek to have their federal student loans discharged due to a school’s alleged misdeeds, such as substantial misrepresentation or a breach of contract. If the borrower is able to satisfy the regulatory standard, the Department of Education will approve the application, discharge the relevant loans, and may issue a refund of payments to the borrower. The Department of Education may then seek recoupment from the school for the amount of any loan forgiveness and/or refunds paid to the borrower.
There have been significant changes in recent years regarding the manner in which the Department of Education will review and adjudicate a borrower’s BDR claim. But none of the recent changes eliminated a borrower’s ability to seek discharge of their student loans under BDR. Regardless of the particular regulatory process being used, BDR is still in effect, and schools can be held accountable for loans discharged by the Department of Education.
Borrower BDR applications are posted to COD Web. Even if your school has not yet received an email notification regarding any BDR applications having been filed, you should check COD Web frequently to ensure that you do not miss any claims that may be filed.
About Chris DeLuca: Chris has over 30 years of experience providing legal, financial, and management services to business owners and career school operators. He represents schools in dispute resolution with the U.S. Department of Education and accrediting agencies and provides ongoing legal counsel and guidance to schools navigating the regulatory and compliance challenges of owning and operating institutions of higher education. In addition, Chris provides legal counsel to both buyers and sellers in transactions involving the change in ownership of regulated institutions of higher education.
About the Higher Education Practice Group: The firm’s Higher Education Group attorneys work with colleges, universities, service providers and other academic enterprises nationwide to help them seize new opportunities, rigorously defend their interests, and successfully meet the challenges of a constantly changing business, regulatory and technology landscape. In particular, the group’s lawyers have special expertise with career colleges.
About the firm: Rouse Frets White offers highly skilled lawyers in many practice areas with vast real world experience. Our clients benefit from blue-ribbon talent unencumbered by mega firm business models.
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