Several videos that began trending on social media over the weekend suggested that student loan borrowers may be able to get their loans forgiven by claiming Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency was violating federal student privacy laws. However, student loan lawyers say there’s likely no merit to the idea.
Videos that have racked up hundreds of thousands of likes on TikTok encourage student loan borrowers to file complaints and lawsuits claiming violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The act, which protects student education records from being shared with third parties, was allegedly violated when data access was granted to Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffers.
Even if there are privacy violations, Adam Minsky, a Massachusetts-based attorney who specializes in student loan law, says there’s nothing to the purported claim that you can get loan forgiveness through FERPA. There’s no “private right of action” under FERPA, which means if an individual asks a court to discharge their loans, the case would be swiftly dismissed.
On Friday, the University of California Student Association filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to stop the Musk-led team from having access to Department of Education systems allegedly containing the personal and financial information of student loan borrowers.
Democrat lawmakers are also objecting to DOGE potentially gaining access to “internal systems containing personal information on tens of millions of Americans,” according to the Associated Press.
An Education Department spokesperson has denied allegations of any wrongdoing, telling multiple outlets that DOGE staff “have the necessary background checks and clearances” to view Education Department data, adding that “there is nothing inappropriate or nefarious going on.”
That dispute between Democrats and the administration aside, the claim that you may be able to somehow get your student loans forgiven because of DOGE’s involvement at the Education Department is inaccurate, according to attorneys.
In a video responding to the rumor, student loan attorney Jay Fleischman explained that the Supreme Court established in 2002 that individuals cannot file lawsuits for relief under FERPA. “If you’re going to file a lawsuit for violations of FERPA, you’re not going anywhere. You’re going to waste your time, you’re going to waste your money. You’re going to get thrown out of court,” Fleischman said.
Joshua Cohen, a student loan lawyer, echoed Fleischman’s opinions and said in a message that suing or filing complaints for this alleged FERPA violation is not a real way for student borrowers to get out of their loans.
“People are grasping at anything to discharge their loans,” he said. “They have lost any faith in the system helping them.”
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According to a report from Money.com, several videos have gone viral on social media over the weekend, claiming that student loan borrowers can get their loans forgiven by accusing Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of violating federal student privacy laws. However, experts say there is no truth to this claim.
The videos, which have gained hundreds of thousands of likes on TikTok, urge borrowers to file complaints and lawsuits alleging violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). This act protects student education records from being shared with third parties, and the alleged violation occurred when DOGE staff were granted access to Department of Education systems.
However, student loan lawyers say that even if there were privacy violations, there is no basis for the claim that borrowers can get their loans forgiven through FERPA. According to Adam Minsky, a Massachusetts-based attorney specializing in student loan law, there is no “private right of action” under FERPA, meaning that any attempt to discharge loans through a lawsuit would be quickly dismissed.
The University of California Student Association has filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to stop DOGE from accessing Department of Education systems containing personal and financial information of student loan borrowers. Additionally, Democratic lawmakers have raised concerns about DOGE potentially gaining access to sensitive information of millions of Americans.
However, despite this dispute, attorneys say that the claim of loan forgiveness through FERPA is inaccurate. In a video addressing the rumor, student loan attorney Jay Fleischman explained that the Supreme Court has established that individuals cannot file lawsuits for relief under FERPA. Similarly, Joshua Cohen, another student loan lawyer, stated that suing or filing complaints for this alleged violation is not a viable way for borrowers to get out of their loans.
“People are grasping at anything to discharge their loans,” Cohen said. “They have lost any faith in the system helping them.” Ultimately, while there may be legitimate concerns about DOGE’s access to sensitive information, experts say that the idea of using FERPA to get student loans forgiven is not a viable solution.
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