Education Department Resumes IDR Loan Forgiveness After Two Months of Zero Discharges

21,200 borrowers received loan discharges in March, ending a two-month gap where zero discharges were recorded. The Department of Education processed 424,583 IDR applications in March, the highest single-month total reported under court order. This volume outpaced new incoming applications by more than 103,000, reducing the pending backlog to 553,966. The return of discharges follows two consecutive months of zero forgiveness for borrowers who qualified for cancellation under income-driven plans.