As President Joe Biden nears the end of his presidency, his administration is pulling back on important measures designed to protect transgender student-athletes and support over 38 million Americans struggling with student debt.
This move is part of a broader initiative to remove pending regulations before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Withdrawal of Key Regulations
The strategy from the White House aims to tidy up a range of unfinished rules across various agencies, making it more challenging for the incoming administration to quickly reshape them to fit its priorities.
If these proposed regulations remained intact, they could be more easily tailored by the next president.
Alongside this withdrawal, the Biden administration is still pushing forward with efforts to ease student debt.
Recently, the Department of Education announced loan forgiveness for an additional 55,000 borrowers under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Impact on Transgender Athletes and Student Loan Policies
Included among the withdrawn regulations are those meant to ensure fair treatment for transgender students in sports, born from ongoing legal battles linked to Title IX.
The administration is also stepping back from initiatives aimed at broad student debt forgiveness, which had faced their own legal challenges.
Activist Melissa Byrne, who advocates for student debt relief, expressed her dismay over this retreat but acknowledged the context behind the decision, citing delays caused by Republican opposition.
She emphasized that these setbacks have made the administration’s choices more complex.
Despite retracting these regulations, the Education Department remains committed to providing debt relief and has indicated its readiness to assist borrowers as they resume payments post-pandemic.
While the incoming Trump administration could establish its rules concerning transgender sports, this process is expected to be time-consuming and cumbersome.
Student Loan Relief Efforts
Biden’s efforts for widespread student loan forgiveness have faced significant obstacles, including a prior ruling from the Supreme Court that shot down an initiative aimed at broad relief.
The two specific student loan proposals being withdrawn were crafted to offer targeted help for select borrower groups and those experiencing financial hardship.
In spite of not accomplishing sweeping debt cancellation, the Biden administration has successfully wiped out roughly $180 billion in federal student loans through various existing programs, providing substantial aid to many borrowers.
As the administration conducts a review of regulations in anticipation of the transition, many stakeholders are left pondering the potential impacts these withdrawals could have on federal education policy and its future direction.
Source: Edweek