Fostering Responsible Education Starts with Helping Students Through Accountability, Relief, and Taxpayer Protection Through Bankruptcy Act of 2021 or the FRESH START Through Bankruptcy Act
This bill revises the treatment of student loans in bankruptcy.
The bill makes federal student loan debt dischargeable in a bankruptcy proceeding ten years after the first loan payment is due, in addition to being dischargeable at any time in cases of undue hardship, as under current law.
Further, institutions of higher education that have at least one-third of their students receiving federal student loans must partially repay a student loan to the Department of Education if that loan is later discharged in bankruptcy. The amount the institution must repay is dependent on the institution's average rates of student loan default and repayment.