Kendrick Gaussoin attended Brooks Institute, a for-profit photography school in California, but took an eight-month leave of absence in late 2015. When the school suddenly closed in August 2016, Gaussoin was ineligible for loan discharge under the standard six-month look-back window because his leave extended beyond that timeframe. However, in the final days of the Biden administration in January 2025, the Education Department expanded the eligibility window for borrowers who had attended several closed schools, including Brooks. Under the new rules, anyone enrolled as of May 6, 2015, would qualify for discharge and refund of past payments, which would have made Gaussoin eligible.
Gaussoin applied for his closed school discharge on August 23, 2026, citing his eligibility under the expanded window. A week later, the Trump administration denied his request, stating he did not meet traditional pre-Biden eligibility requirements. The Education Department characterized the Biden-era changes as “unlawful” in a statement to media outlets, claiming the previous administration had inappropriately shifted debt burden onto taxpayers.
However, legal experts and former department officials point out that secretaries of education have statutory authority to expand closed school discharge eligibility citing exceptional circumstances. During the first Trump administration in 2019, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos used this same authority to expand the look-back window for borrowers affected by the Art Institute of Colorado and Illinois Institute of Art closures. According to former Federal Student Aid officials, department leadership instructed staff to pause processing discharges using the expanded window pending approval from the incoming Trump team.
Student Defense, a borrower advocacy nonprofit, filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Gaussoin and potentially thousands of other borrowers. The lawsuit argues the Trump administration cannot simply ignore policy changes made within the department’s legal authority. Higher education attorneys suggest that if the administration wishes to reverse the Biden-era expansion, it must follow proper administrative procedures by providing a reasoned legal explanation to the public rather than silently declining to implement the rules.
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