Press Releases 
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August 27, 2021
On Friday, Aug. 27, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Alaska's American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to them.
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August 27, 2021
On Friday, Aug. 27, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Illinois' American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to them.
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August 27, 2021
On Friday, Aug. 27, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced the approval of Connecticut's American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to them.
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August 26, 2021
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced it will make $1.1 billion in closed school discharges available to an additional 115,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct ITT Technical Institute (ITT). This decision is based on a new review of the problems leading up to ITT's closure. These borrowers did not complete their degree or credential and left ITT on or after March 31, 2008. The Department estimates that 43 percent of these borrowers are currently in default.
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August 24, 2021
Today, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) sent a letter to its state and local partners reiterating its commitment to ensuring children with disabilities and their families have successful early intervention and educational experiences in the 2021-2022 school year.
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August 20, 2021
"The Biden Administration is fully committed to a safe and healthy return to in-person learning for all students this fall. It is deeply troubling to see state leaders putting politics ahead of the health and safety of our students, and that instead of supporting our educators for doing the right thing, state leaders are trying to punish them.
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August 20, 2021
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) has retroactively waived interest on loans held by more than 47,000 current and former active-duty service members. This action was made possible by a data-matching agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) that substantially improves access to a student loan interest-waiver benefit for many service members with federal student loans.
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August 19, 2021
Over 323,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability (TPD) will receive more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges due to a new regulation announced today by the U.S. Department of Education. The change will apply to borrowers who are identified through an existing data match with the Social Security Administration (SSA). It will begin with the September quarterly match with SSA. The Department is also announcing two other policy items related to TPD today.
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August 18, 2021
Today, the U.S. Department of Education announced the approval of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands Public School System's (CNMI PSS) implementation plan. CNMI PSS's plan details how $160 million in American Rescue Plan Outlying Areas State Educational Agencies funds will be used to safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and equitably expand opportunity for students who need it most, particularly those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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August 16, 2021
Today, the U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, launched an initiative to help connect millions of unemployed Americans to postsecondary education, especially those displaced from their employment during the pandemic. To help all Americans seek educational opportunities or training that lead to good jobs, the Departments of Education and Labor will alert institutions of higher education and state workforce agencies about ways to help unemployment...