News and reports from the Department of Education.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the 2024 Engage Every Student Recognition Program Champions, honoring 13 non-profit organizations and city municipalities across the country. These entities, working in partnership with local schools, are recognized for their efforts to expand access to high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has announced a series of steps aimed at modernizing the Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA). The initiatives, detailed in a letter to staff and posted on the Education Department's Homeroom blog, focus on improving management and operational efficiency to better serve students, families, borrowers, and schools.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced today that the Rapid City Area Schools district in South Dakota has entered into a resolution agreement to ensure compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 regarding school discipline and advanced learning programs.

The U.S. Department of Education announced it has processed over 10 million 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms. The introduction of the Better FAFSA form has led to significant improvements, with students now able to expect their records to be sent to colleges within one to three days. Nearly 90% of nonprofit and four-year institutions are currently packaging and sending out aid offers to students. Recent data shows a notable increase in FAFSA submissions, reducing the gap from nearly 40 percent two months ago to 12 percent today.

The Biden-Harris Administration announced the approval of $7.7 billion in additional student loan debt relief for 160,500 borrowers. This relief covers three categories: Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), President Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, and income-driven repayment (IDR) adjustments. The SAVE Plan has assisted over 8 million borrowers, including 4.6 million with a $0 monthly payment.

The Biden-Harris Administration has declared a new record in Federal funding and investments for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), amounting to over $16 billion from Fiscal Years (FY) 2021 through the currently available data for FY 2024. This updated total, up from the previously announced $7 billion, encompasses significant additional actions already undertaken.

The Biden-Harris Administration has extended the deadline for student borrowers to apply for loan consolidation, giving them until June 30 to do so. This extension comes as part of an update on the timing of the payment count adjustment, a mechanism designed to ensure that borrowers receive proper credit for progress made toward income-driven repayment (IDR) forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced new measures to enhance access to school-based mental health services. These actions include: (1) nearly doubling investments in the U.S. Department of Education’s School-Based Mental Health Services and Mental Health Service Professionals grant programs for the current fiscal year; (2) additional investments through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to improve student and educator mental health and wellbeing; and (3) offering new mental health and wellbeing training and...

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has announced the 2024 U.S. Presidential Scholars, honoring 161 high school seniors for their achievements in academics, arts, and career and technical education fields.

The U.S. Department of Education’s (Department’s) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) today released a Dear Colleague Letter to schools specifying with concrete examples the application of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to allegations of discrimination in schools based on shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics, including discrimination against students and school community members who are or are perceived to be Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Arab, Sikh, South Asian, Hindu, or Palestinian.

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) today announced additional steps to support students and their families with the Better FAFSA. The Department is launching a multi-million-dollar program as part of the FAFSA Student Support Strategy to help school districts, state, nonprofits and other public and private organizations with efforts to boost FAFSA completion. Since the new 2024–25 FAFSA form became available on Dec. 30, more than 8.95 million forms have been successfully submitted.

The Biden-Harris Administration has released new data on Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) approvals in every Congressional District, showcasing the significant progress made in providing relief to borrowers. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona highlighted the impact of this effort, stating, “As we honor our nation’s teachers, we also celebrate the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic work to help ease the burden of student loans for educators as well as for nurses, firefighters, and other public service workers in every single part of the country.”The data...

On May 1, 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the approval of a $6.1 billion group student loan discharge for 317,000 borrowers who attended The Art Institutes. This action brings the total approved debt cancellation under the Biden Administration to nearly $160 billion for almost 4.6 million borrowers.U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona expressed, "For more than a decade, hundreds of thousands of hopeful students borrowed billions to attend The Art Institutes and got little but lies in return. That ends today—thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration's...

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) has announced the completion of reprocessing 2024–25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) forms affected by known issues with IRS data, allowing institutions to now package financial aid offers. Additionally, applicants and contributors without a Social Security number (SSN) can now access and submit the online form immediately.U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal expressed optimism about the progress made, stating, “It’s time for schools to package and send aid offers, and for all new and returning...

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona expressed gratitude for Richard Cordray's tenure as Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Department of Education office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), as Cordray prepares to step down at the end of June.Cardona commended Cordray's efforts, stating, “We are grateful for Rich Cordray’s three years of service, in which he accomplished more transformational changes to the student aid system than any of his predecessors." Cordona highlighted Cordray's achievements in fixing the broken student loan system, including programs like Public...