The decision is the product of fixes to the student loan system's repayment plans, which allow for borrowers to have their remaining debts cancelled after they've made payments for a period of 20 years or 25 years, depending on their circumstances.
"Administrative failures" led to borrowers being denied the relief they were eligible for under their repayment plans, the Education Department said. "For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a written statement.
The news comes shortly after the Supreme Court barred President Biden's landmark plan to provide student-loan forgiveness for about 37 million people.