# Court Rejects Education Department's Bid to Delay Loan Forgiveness Student debt relief process accelerates for over 170,000 borrowers. - **Source:** [The College Investor](https://brifing.si/source/d431d77d-492e-4105-be7c-2525bbb643ab) - **Published:** 2026-07-18 - **Topic:** [Finance](https://brifing.si/c/finance) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/5c27bff1-9902-48f7-8733-2d777fda493e ## Ruling Summary The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the Education Department's request to delay loan forgiveness for over 170,000 student borrowers. The court stated the Department failed to provide sufficient legal justification to modify its 2022 settlement agreement. ## What Is the Sweet Case? Sweet v. McMahon is one of the largest education settlements in U.S. history, providing at least $23 billion in loan relief to over 500,000 borrowers who claimed deception by for-profit schools. This decision covers 'post-class' applicants who filed claims in 2022. ## Department's Argument The Education Department sought an extension citing unexpected application volumes. However, the court noted the Department knew these numbers in 2022 and didn't object then. It referenced the Supreme Court's 'foreseen circumstances' standard for settlement modifications. ## Procedural History Earlier this year, the district court granted limited deadline extensions for certain schools. The Ninth Circuit denied the Department's stay request in March 2026. Now both deadlines have passed, compelling the Department to fulfill its obligations. ## Impact on Borrowers Project Director Eileen Connor emphasized that borrowers have waited too long for deserved relief. The ruling marks an accountability victory for students misled by their institutions, following similar relief efforts like the Navient settlement earlier this year. ## Next Steps The Department must now provide full loan discharges for delayed applications. While it may appeal to the full Ninth Circuit or Supreme Court, it has lost at every stage so far. Other borrowers may qualify for different forgiveness programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness. ## Sources covering this story - https://thecollegeinvestor.com/84685/ninth-circuit-rejects-education-departments-bid-to-delay-loan-forgiveness/ — --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._