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Loan Forgiveness Extended For Charlotte Law Students

If you were a student of the now-defunct Charlotte Law School, you may be in luck.
The Department of Education has announced that it is extending the request window for loan forgiveness for students who withdrew from the for-profit law school before its closing, Inside Higher Ed reports.
Closed-School Discharge
The process is known as “closed-school discharge.” Under this federal regulation, students who
withdraw from a school 120 days prior to its closing are eligible to have their federal loans discharged. According to the Department of Education, students must meet two criteria to have 100% loan forgiveness.

  • “Your school closes while you’re enrolled, and you do not complete your program because of the closure.”
  • “If you were on an approved leave of absence, you are considered to have been enrolled at the school. Your school closes within 120 days after you withdraw.”

Nearly 300 Students Could Have Their Loans Forgiven
However, the Department of Education is now extending that 120-day window to provide loan forgiveness to more students who attended Charlotte Law.
“My focus is and will continue to be on doing what’s right for individual students,” U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced last week. “Several students, through no fault of their own, fell through the cracks as Charlotte School of Law closed. It’s important that they, too, are made whole.”
The extension could grant loan forgiveness for nearly 300 student borrowers. Under this new extension, loan forgiveness would be granted to students who withdrew on or after December 31, 2016 – 224 days prior to Charlotte Law’s closures.
Sources: Inside Higher Ed, Department of Education, Department of Education

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