Cancellation for Spouses of Victims of 9/11

The Education Dept. published Final Regulations related to the cancellation of loans for spouses of victims of 9/11. Some of the provisions are different than those published in the Interim Regulations under which we were operating. The changes are effective 10/29/07.

The regulation [674.52(c)(3)] is changed to specify that a defaulted Perkins loan may qualify for the cancellation.

The timeframe for receipt of medical treatment is extended from 24 hours to 72 hours (One criteria for determining eligibility was whether the borrower received medical treatment within 24 hours of the disaster or the borrower's rescue from the disaster; that provision is extended to 72 hours.)

Cancellation is provided for physical injuries only. The Department reviewed and rejected arguments to extend the benefit to borrowers who suffered non-physical (e.g. emotional, psychological) injuries.

The borrower requesting the discharge may sign the statement or the discharge application to indicate the "victim" was present at the crash site, in the buildings, in areas contiguous to the crash sites, or on board any of the aircraft.

While these are minor changes, they do impact the eligibility of a borrower for the benefit. Since we see so few of these, you may continue to bring them to me for review.

Originated: Debbie Glish Email 10/2/07

ED LETTER RE FERPA & FREEDOM OF INFO ACT

Dear Client:
Last month, the Education Department published a letter clarifying an institution's responsibility for releasing student data under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. The full letter is available at www.ifap.ed.gov, Letters and Bulletins, Dear Colleague Letters, General, GEN-07-05.

If you do not deal with these types of requests, you might want to pass the information along to the appropriate person or office on your campus.

The Federal FOIA applies only to federal agencies and their employees. Institutions that participate in Title IV programs are not subject to the Federal FOIA and are not required to release any student information under that law.

Regardless of any request for information, an institution must comply with FERPA (Federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act). An institution may not release personally identifiable information from a student's records without his/her prior consent. A few exceptions apply, but FIOA is not one of them. FERPA does not require an institution to actively seek a borrower's consent to release information in order to comply with a request for information.

Questions regarding the issues discussed in the Dear Colleague Letter may be sent to Michelle Belton at the Education Department, 202-502-7821 or michelle.belton@ed.gov.