The absence of a June student loan status report has left many borrowers and advocates puzzled. However, the explanation is straightforward: no such report was ever required. The monthly status reports, which provided a glimpse into the U.S. Department of Education‘s progress in processing income-driven repayment (IDR) applications and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) buybacks, were part of a court agreement that only mandated six reports.
The last of these reports was filed on May 13, concluding the requirement set forth in the October 23, 2026 order. This order stipulated that the Department would file exactly six status reports, with the first due 30 days after the end of the federal government’s appropriations lapse. The subsequent reports were due every 30 days thereafter, resulting in filings on December 15, January 14, February 13, March 16, and April 15, followed by the final report on May 13.
The Content of the Status Reports
Each status report provided crucial data for the preceding calendar month. This included the number of IDR applications received, pending, and decided, along with approvals and denials where possible. The reports also detailed the number of borrowers whose loans were discharged under various IDR planssuch as IBROriginal ICRor PAYEas well as the status of PSLF buyback applications and the number of borrowers discharged through PSLF.
The first report also explained how the Department identified borrowers eligible for IDR discharge and the number of IBR applicants denied after July 4, 2026, for lacking a partial financial hardship. These reports have been instrumental in helping borrowers understand the pace at which IDR applications and PSLF buyback applications were being processed.
The Future of Student Loan Reporting
The October 23, 2026 order specified that after the sixth report, the parties would confer about the need for further reporting and, if necessary, inform the court of their stance. This sets the stage for the next hearing on July 8, where the judge will decide whether the Department should continue filing these monthly disclosures or if the reporting obligation should end.
The data from these reports has been a vital source of information for borrowers and advocates. The Department’s own reports revealed that there were hundreds of thousands of IDR applications pending, with roughly 530,295 still waiting as of May 2026. The reports also described the Department’s progress in processing time-based forgiveness in every-other-month increments.
The timing of these reports is crucial for the millions of borrowers affected by the SAVE plan limbo and those considering a switch to IBRPAYEor the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP)which takes effect in July 2026. If the July 8 hearing results in the end of the reporting requirement, borrowers and watchdogs may lose their most transparent month-to-month insight into whether the backlog is actually decreasing.
Robert Farrington, the founder of The College Investor and a recognized expert on student loan debt, has been a prominent voice in this discussion. With an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and over 15 years of experience in researching and advising on student loans, Farrington has been featured in numerous prominent publications, including The New York TimesThe Wall Street JournalThe Washington Postand Forbes. His work combines professional expertise with personal experience, as he successfully navigated his own student loan repayment journey and has helped thousands of readers do the same.
