Arkansans await student debt decision

About 144,000 Arkansans each will be immediately relieved of up to $20,000 of student loan debt if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of the Biden administration.

Context: The student loan forgiveness program is on hold while the Supreme Court considers a legal challenge brought by a coalition of GOP-led states.

What happened: Biden unveiled plans last August to knock $20,000 off the bills for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for those who did not receive grant money. The forgiveness applies only to those who make less than $125,000 a year.

By the numbers: About 222,000 Arkansans applied or were automatically eligible for debt relief between the time the federal government began accepting applications and when the program was halted, according to data recently released by the Biden administration.

• 144,000 fully approved applications were sent to loan servicers.

Zoom out: Roughly 26 million people applied or were automatically eligible for loan forgiveness. About 16.5 million have been fully approved.

What to watch: The Supreme Court is set to begin hearing arguments on Feb. 28. A ruling isn't expected until summer.