Is Student Loan Debt Now Dischargeable Through Bankruptcy? It’s Complicated

Pasadena City College students at the graduation ceremony in Pasadena, Calif., on June 14, 2019. With 45 million borrowers owing $1.5 trillion, the student debt crisis in the United States has exploded in recent years. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

History was made earlier this month when a New York judge ruled that U.S. Navy veteran Kevin Rosenberg’s $221,385.49 student loan debt balance is dischargeable under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Prior to the ruling, attempting to dismiss student loan debt through bankruptcy was exceedingly difficult, if not altogether impossible. Unlike other kinds of consumer debt, which can be erased after filing for bankruptcy, student loan debt is the only type considered ineligible for dismissal unless certain legal requirements are satisfied.