Photo: Getty Images The Department of Education has restored online applications for several student loan repayment plans. On Wednesday (March 26), the Education Department announced that applications had been reopened for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, again allowing borrowers the chance to lower their monthly repayments or seek loan forgiveness, per Newsweek. IDR applications were initially suspended last month following a legal dispute over former President Joe Biden’s Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which lowered monthly payments and accelerated loan forgiveness. Last year, several states sued to stop SAVE, resulting in 8 million borrowers being put in interest-free forbearance amid the ongoing case. A federal court upheld the pause, sending the matter back to a district court for the final verdict. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) sought a court order to restore IDR applications amid its temporary suspension. “By effectively freezing the nation’s student loan system, the new administration seems intent on making life harder for working people, including for millions of borrowers who have taken on student debt so they can go to college. The former president tried to fix the system for 45 million Americans, but the new president is breaking it again,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement earlier this month. The suspension also disproportionately impacted Black women, who have higher student debt averages than any other demographic. Black women have 43 percent more undergraduate debt than white women. The intersection of two marginalized identities leaves Black women to face the gender pay gap and systemic racism. On Wednesday, the DOE said it had revised IDR applications to combat Biden’s “illegal efforts to transfer student loan debt to taxpayers.” “A federal appeals court struck down another one of the Biden Administration’s illegal efforts to transfer student loan debt to taxpayers. In response, the Trump Administration substantially revised the income-driven repayment plan application to conform with the ruling. Our team was able to relaunch this application within weeks, ensuring borrowers have access and the ability to access all legal repayment plans,” the department said in a statement, adding, “Because the online application incorporated provisions subject to the injunction, it was necessary to revise the form, making it unavailable to borrowers in the interim. Paper loan consolidation applications were available to borrowers during that time.” Reopened IDR applications include those for Income-Based Repayment (IBR), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE). The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live. The post Department Of Education Restores Student Loan Payment Plans: What To Know appeared first on Atlanta Daily World. ...read more read less