Attorney General Racine Announces Debt Relief for ITT Technical Institute Students

Students Can Apply for “Closed-School Discharge”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the wake of the closure of ITT Technical Institute (ITT), Attorney General Karl A. Racine is letting students who were enrolled at the school know that they may be eligible to have their student loans discharged. ITT closed its doors after the Department of Education announced additional oversight after the school’s continued failure to meet accreditation standards despite years of state and federal investigations.

Students who attended the now defunct school have two immediate options:

  1. District residents who were attending ITT when it announced its closure on Sept. 6, 2016, or who withdrew from an ITT Technical Institute location on May 6, 2016, or thereafter may be eligible for a “closed-school” discharge of their federal student loans. Under this option, a student’s loan debt may be forgiven and the student can restart at another educational institution. The process for the closed-school discharge will be posted on the ITT Announcements Page at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/announcements/itt.
  2. District residents wishing to complete their program at a different school may transfer their credits if the new school accepts the credits from ITT. It is important to note that transferring credits may impact the ability to have ITT student loans forgiven. If the new school does not accept the ITT credits, the closed-school discharge option above is still available.

“Hard-working District students shouldn’t be saddled with debt from a defunct institution that jeopardizes their economic future,” said Attorney General Racine. “This debt relief option can help ITT students begin anew, and the Office of the Attorney General will continue to fight for students like these who deserve a fair chance.”

For more information, students can contact the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID. The Department of Education is also hosting a series of online webinars to share information on ITT student debt relief and answer students’ questions. You can view the schedule of webinars and instructions on how to attend at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/about/announcements/itt.

More Resources
In connection with its ongoing efforts to help District residents handle their student loan debt, the Office of the Attorney General also maintains a Student Loan Resource Page, which provides District residents with free resources about repayment options and up-to-date information about how to manage student loan debt. The Student Loan Resource Page is available at oag.dc.gov/studentloans.