[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 203 (Monday, October 23, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 72685-72686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23334]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 685

[Docket ID ED-2023-OPE-0004]
RIN 1840-AD81


Improving Income Driven Repayment for the William D. Ford Federal 
Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) 
Program

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Announcement of early implementation date.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) designates a 
regulatory provision in its final rule related to income-driven 
repayment for early implementation.

DATES: October 23, 2023. For the implementation dates of the regulatory 
provision, see SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce Honer, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20202. 
Telephone: (202) 987-0750. Email: [email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 482(c)(1) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), requires that regulations affecting 
programs under title IV of the HEA be published in final form by 
November 1 prior to the start of the award year (July 1) to which they 
apply. Section 482(c)(2) of the HEA also

[[Page 72686]]

permits the Secretary to designate any regulatory provision as one that 
an entity subject to the provision may choose to implement earlier and 
to outline the conditions for early implementation.
    On July 10, 2023, the Department published in the Federal Register 
a final rule amending regulations related to income-driven repayment 
(88 FR 43820). In that final rule, we designated certain provisions for 
early implementation.
    The Secretary is exercising his authority under section 482(c) of 
the HEA to designate an additional regulatory change made in that final 
rule for early implementation beginning on October 23, 2023.
    The Secretary is designating for early implementation the change to 
the process for a borrower re-enrolling in the Revised Pay As You Earn 
(REPAYE) repayment plan, which is now also known as the Saving on a 
Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan, after previously being 
enrolled in a different plan. Under current 34 CFR 685.209(c)(4)(vi)(D) 
and (E), a borrower returning to REPAYE must provide documentation of 
income for the years in which the borrower was not on REPAYE. Section 
685.209(e) of the final rule, which will become effective on July 1, 
2024, employs a simpler process that does not require documentation of 
prior years' income information. See 88 FR 43820, 43901. On October 23, 
2023, the Department will implement Sec.  685.209(e), to the extent it 
eliminates the requirement for borrowers returning to SAVE after having 
previously been on REPAYE to provide prior years' income. The Secretary 
is designating only the removal of this requirement for early 
implementation, rather than all of Sec.  685.209(e).
    While documentation of income for years in which a borrower was not 
enrolled in REPAYE is no longer required, a borrower will still need to 
provide documentation of their income information to allow the 
Department to calculate the borrower's current monthly payment amount 
under the SAVE plan.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format 
(PDF). To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 
available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Miguel A. Cardona,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2023-23334 Filed 10-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P