The next 90 days

I sat down with Adam Minsky this week to record an update. We planned for 15 minutes. We went over 20 and still didn’t cover everything.

That should tell you where we are right now.

Here’s the short version. If you’re on the SAVE plan, your servicer will send you a notice on or around July 1st telling you to pick a new plan. You’ll have 90 days from that notice to move. That means the earliest real deadline for most borrowers is late September — not July. That’s more time than most people think they have. Use it.

If you haven’t consolidated yet and you need to —especially Parent PLUS borrowers— the window is closing. April 1st was the recommended application deadline to get processed by July 1st. If you’re past that, it’s not impossible, but you’re relying on processing speed that the Department of Education hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt on. A GAO report just came out showing servicers got the information wrong in 80% of the cases they reviewed. These are the same companies you’re depending on to process your consolidation correctly and on time.

Then there’s collections. The Department of Education is moving at least part of the defaulted loan portfolio to the Treasury Department. We don’t have the full details yet — whether that means garnishment notices, tax refund offsets, or both — but the direction is clear. Collections are resuming this summer, and Treasury will be involved.

On the forgiveness side, the Department of Education filed its latest report in theSweet v. Cardonalawsuit. Two things stood out. First, borrowers who applied for a buyback while SAVE was still active may now owe more than they expected because the lower-payment calculation was removed when SAVE was terminated. The longer the processing takes, the more expensive it gets.

Second, IDR forgiveness is still moving — another 30,000-plus borrowers are about to get forgiveness notices, and a payment tracking tool is finally coming so you can actually see where you stand instead of relying on the back-door tracker.

And then there are the joint spousal consolidation borrowers. Still waiting. Over a year now for some of them. One of my clients, Paul, is staring at an $8,000-a-month payment if his separation doesn’t go through. He’s been on forbearance this whole time because what else would you do? The question Adam and I talked through is: when does this become a litigation issue — when does the Department’s inaction become something a court can actually address?

I made a video walking through all of this with Adam: Student Loan News Update April 2026. It covers every major development happening right now and what you should be doing about each one.

One more thing worth paying attention to this week. The Department of Education proposed a new rule that would tie federal student aid eligibility to graduates’ earnings. If a program’s graduates don’t earn enough, that program loses access to federal loans. This mostly targets certificate programs — only about 2% of degree programs are at risk — but it signals a broader shift in how the government thinks about which schools deserve federal dollars. If you’re considering going back to school or taking on new loans, this is worth watching.

And for those of you dealing with private student loans— Business Insider ran a piece this week about private loan borrowers struggling with repayment, and why federal borrowers who refinanced into private loans are now stuck without the safety nets they gave up. I talk to people in this situation every week. They refinanced because the rate was lower. Now they have no income-driven repayment, no forgiveness path, and no way to reverse it.

Here’s what I want you to know: private student loans can be settled. And they can be discharged in bankruptcy. Not easily, and not in every case. But the idea that private student loan debt is permanent and untouchable is wrong.

Settlement typically lands somewhere around 40-60% of the balance, and the bankruptcy landscape for private loans has shifted meaningfully over the last few years — especially for loans that don’t meet the technical definition of a “qualified education loan” under the Bankruptcy Code. If you’re drowning in private student loan debt and haven’t talked to someone about these options, you should.

If you want to talk through your situation — federal, private, or both — you can book a call here: https://www.tateesq.com/book-a-call

Tomorrow I’m heading to Philadelphia to ask a judge to reopen my client’s 2013 bankruptcy case so we can go after her joint spousal consolidation loan. Hopping on the Acela in the morning, hearing at 10, back on the train to Baltimore by 12:30.

Reopening an old bankruptcy case is usually straightforward — I just reopened one in Connecticut from 20 years ago without any pushback. But this judge set it for a hearing, which means I need to come prepared with legal arguments for why the case should be reopened.

So I put together all my research. Then I figured at least one of you might want to see what this actually looks like in practice, so I spun up a quick AI-powered website that lays out the comprehensive research. You can walk through it yourself here: https://hostileguide-p7u3hgwp.manus.space/

Resources to check out

Should You Switch IDR Plans in 2026? SAVE is gone. PAYE is sunsetting. This walks through your remaining options — IBR, ICR, and what RAP might look like — and when switching makes sense.

Student Loan Changes on July 1, 2026 The full breakdown of everything changing this summer: RAP launch, plan phase-outs, consolidation deadlines, and what happens if you do nothing.

Private Student Loan Bankruptcy: Discharge Rules & Tactics How private loan discharge actually works, what the undue hardship standard requires, and when bankruptcy is a real option — not a last resort.

Private Student Loan Forgiveness: What Exists and How Loans Actually Get Discharged There’s no federal forgiveness for private loans. But settlement and bankruptcy can eliminate the debt. This explains both paths.