If the justices do strike down the proposal, McCollum says the administration’s best alternative would be to look to the Higher Education Act (HEA). This 1965 law allows student loan relief for certain groups of borrowers, including those whose institutions have since closed.

McCollum points out that, under section 432(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1082(a), the Secretary is given the authority to modify, “… compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.”