Federal Aid (US)
Education Department Expands Student Loan Relief Programs
The Education Department finalized a flurry of new rules on Monday for its student loan programs, rolling back changes made during the Trump administration and making adjustments that will reduce the total sums owed by many borrowers. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called the new rules “a monumental step forward in the Biden-Harris team’s efforts to […]
Know More
Justice Dept. Charges 48 in Brazen Pandemic Aid Fraud in Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS — The Justice Department said on Tuesday that it had charged 48 people with running a brazen fraud against anti-hunger programs in the coronavirus pandemic, stealing $240 million by billing the government for meals they did not serve to children who did not exist. The case, in Minnesota, is the largest fraud uncovered in […]
Know More
Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan: Your Questions, Answered
President Biden announced on Wednesday that the federal government would cancel up to $20,000 worth of federal student loans for millions of people. But not everyone with debt will qualify. The action includes rules that will maintain the balances of debtors who currently have high incomes. Those who do qualify will need to navigate the […]
Know More
Student Loan Borrowers Got the Debt, but Not the Degree
“I had really good professors who were for the most part really understanding, but it was too much,” she said. “It was a tumultuous time.” Ms. Summers-Polite withdrew from her classes in spring 2012 with a medical note that prevented her from receiving failing grades, but the debt had already begun to accumulate. She said […]
Know More
New Biden Administration Rules for Charter Schools Spur Bipartisan Backlash
On Wednesday, an estimated 1,000 parents and advocates from across the country rallied at the Education Department and the White House in opposition of the rules. Malachi Armstrong, the father of a kindergartner who attends a charter school in Philadelphia, was among the participants, who held signs, wore T-shirts with protest messages and repeated chants […]
Know More
Student Loan Borrowers Don’t Deserve ‘Forgiveness.’ They Deserve an Apology.
Still not convinced that the nation should ask debtors for absolution, and not the other way around? Consider the facts. First, there’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which for decades has yoked millions of students and families each year to its cumbersome form, confusing questions and confounding — and infuriating — […]
Know More
A One-Woman Rescue Squad for Homeless Students
“The fact that there’s this cadre of liaisons who are committed to the program has pushed schools to pay more attention to homeless kids,” said Maria Foscarinis, a longtime housing advocate who lobbied for the 1987 law. While only about 57 percentof homeless children were enrolled in school when the law passed, the share soon […]
Know More
In a Michigan County, Stimulus Funds Are Remaking Public Health Programs
LANSING, Mich. — In an underserved neighborhood of Michigan’s capital city, a health clinic is being built with nearly $900,000 in federal pandemic relief funds, a project that could transform the community’s access to care. Wedged among new affordable apartments and a community center, the clinic is a symbol of the rapid effect the funds […]
Know More
As Biden Pleads for More Covid Aid, States Are Awash in Federal Dollars
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Gov. Andy Beshear has been toting oversize checks around his state in recent weeks, handing them out to city and county officials for desperately needed water improvements. The tiny city of Mortons Gap got $109,000 to bring running water to six families who do not have it. The people of Martin County, […]
Know More