Feds: Thousands may have student debt that should be erased

By COLLIN BINKLEY
AP Education Writer

A new federal report finds that record-keeping failures by the Education Department may have left thousands of Americans stuck with student debt that should have been forgiven. A study released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office revealed flaws in the management of income-driven repayment plans, which offer reduced monthly payments and automatic forgiveness after 20 or 25 years. Education officials acknowledged that it has struggled to track payments by some borrowers and promised improvements. The GAO report identified 7,700 student loans that appear to be eligible for forgiveness but were not canceled as of September 2020.