The Department is likely to significantly reform the current federal student loan system with revisions to criteria for student loan forgiveness.

The U.S. Department of Education has announced its intention to host public hearings and establish one or more negotiated rulemaking committees to prepare proposed regulations on various programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. All interested parties are invited to provide public comments at the scheduled hearings or submit written comments on proposed or potential topics for this process.

The Department specifically named the following topics for the sessions, including:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness;
• Pay As You Earn Program;
• Income-Contingent Repayment Plans; and
• Additional topics on revising federal student financial assistance programs.

Public Hearings

The Department will hold two public hearings in preparation for negotiated rulemaking, including an in-person hearing at the Department (400 Maryland Ave. SW, Barnard Auditorium, Washington, DC 20202) on April 29, 2025, and a virtual public hearing on May 1, 2025. Any individuals interested in presenting comments at the public hearings should submit an email message to the Department by 12:00 p.m., April 28, 2025.

Written Comments

The Department will accept written comments on the topics it has suggested and additional topics that may be considered on or before May 5, 2025. Comments must be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at regulations.gov. Information on using regulations.gov, including instructions for submitting comments, is available on the site under “FAQ.” If you require an accommodation or cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, you should contact regulationshelpdesk@gsa.gov or by phone at 1-866-498-2945.

All interested parties are encouraged to submit comments and attend the public hearings. The Department is likely to significantly reform the current federal student loan system with revisions to criteria for student loan forgiveness. The proposed topics provided have been the subject of recent criticism by the Trump administration and, therefore, the future of these programs may be decided in the upcoming negotiated rulemaking. It is recommended that stakeholders and parties involved with federal student financial assistance programs confer with counsel to strategize and analyze how such revisions may impact different higher education parties, as well as to determine if other topics for negotiation should be submitted for consideration at this time. Institutions should consider proposing additional topics for the negotiated rulemaking committees, including any topics that involve “how title IV regulations have impacted institutions, States, and other partners and if their implementation may be inhibiting innovation and contributing to rising college costs.” If an institution is burdened and/or strongly opposes any relevant regulation, it should include that topic in its written comments.

For more information on these hearings and the process overall, visit the Department’s new “Negotiated Rulemaking for Higher Education 2025-2026” website.

For More Information

If you have any questions about this Alert, please contact any of the attorneys in our Higher Education Group or the attorney in the firm with whom you are regularly in contact.

Disclaimer: This Alert has been prepared and published for informational purposes only and is not offered, nor should be construed, as legal advice. For more information, please see the firm's full disclaimer.