WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 30: U.S. President Joe Biden announces new actions to protect borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down his student loan forgiveness plan in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on June 30, 2023 in Washington, DC. In a 6-to-3 decision, the court ruled the loan forgiveness program -- which was projected to help 40 million people and cost $400 billion -- was unconstitutional. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Joe Biden announces new actions to protect borrowers after the Supreme Court struck down his student loan forgiveness plan in a speech at the White House on June 30, 2023.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Washington CNN  — 

The Biden administration is making another attempt to create a new student loan forgiveness program and released some details Monday about the types of borrowers being considered for eligibility.

The administration is in the very early stages of developing the new program. A finalized proposal isn’t expected until 2024, and the student debt relief effort could still face legal challenges.

President Joe Biden’s first student loan forgiveness proposal, which promised up to $20,000 in debt relief for low- and middle-income borrowers, was struck down by the Supreme Court in late June.

After the defeat, Biden vowed to pursue a different path to delivering student loan forgiveness, based on a different law, the Higher Education Act.

The new pathway requires the Department of Education to undertake a formal rulemaking process, known as “negotiated rulemaking,” which typically takes months.

TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden speaks about student debt relief at Central New Mexico Community College Student Resource Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on November 3, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden speaks about student debt relief at Central New Mexico Community College Student Resource Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on November 3, 2022. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

How Biden is continuing to cancel student loan debt despite Supreme Court ruling

A committee of outside negotiators – including borrowers, schools and student loan servicer representatives – is tasked with meeting several times during October, November and December to discuss the proposal and provide input on the regulatory language.

The public also has an opportunity to weigh in. A draft rule is expected to be released next year.

A new student loan forgiveness program is unlikely to benefit the same borrowers that the initial program would have.

The Department of Education said Monday that four groups of borrowers are being considered for eligibility, including those who:

  • Currently have balances bigger than what they originally borrowed.
  • Entered repayment at least 25 years ago.
  • Attended career-training programs that created “unreasonable debt loads or provided insufficient earnings for graduates” or that have an “unacceptably high student loan default rate.”
  • Are eligible for existing student loan forgiveness programs but have not applied.

The Department of Education also released a paper Monday aiming to guide the negotiators’ November discussion toward including borrowers who are experiencing financial hardship that the current federal student loan system does not adequately address.

“President Biden a