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9 million student-loan borrowers got an email in November with the wrong subject line informing them their debt relief had been approved. Corrections are coming.

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  • Millions of student-loan borrowers got an email last month saying their debt relief was approved.
  • The subject line should've said the applications were received, not approved.
  • An Education Department contractor plans to issue corrections to the subject line.
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Millions of student-loan borrowers are expected to soon receive an updated email on the status of their debt relief.

On November 22-23, approximately 9 million borrowers got an email from President Joe Biden's Education Department with the subject line "Your Student Loan Debt Relief Application Has Been Approved."

But that subject line was incorrect — it was supposed to inform borrowers only that their applications had been received with the subject line "Update on Student Loan Debt Relief."

The error was made by Accenture Federal Services, a contractor of the department that sent the email communications. While the content of the email itself was accurate and provided borrowers an update that debt relief was being held up in court and loans couldn't yet be discharged, Accenture, on behalf of the department, plans to send new emails with a corrected subject line to affected borrowers in the coming days.

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Stacey Jones, the senior managing director and head of corporate communications for Accenture, told Insider in a statement that the company "regrets the human error that led to an email being sent to a number of student loan debt relief applicants with an inaccurate subject line."

"The email was sent on behalf of the Department of Education on Nov. 22 and 23," she continued. "Working closely with the Department, Accenture Federal Services will review quality control measures to support accurate and timely communications to applicants in the Student Loan Debt Relief program."

An Education Department representative also told Insider in a statement that "communicating clearly and accurately with borrowers is a top priority of the Department."

"We are in close touch with Accenture Federal Services as they take corrective action to ensure all borrowers and those affected have accurate information about debt relief," the person said.

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The department previously indicated that 26 million student-loan borrowers had submitted applications for debt relief. Since October, though, the option to submit an application has been closed because of two legal decisions that have blocked the implementation of the relief. The first ruling came from a Texas judge last month who said Biden's plan to cancel student debt was illegal, and just days later the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals decided the temporary pause it had placed on the relief in October would remain in place.

Biden's Justice Department has asked the Supreme Court to intervene in both cases. The court hasn't indicated how it will approach the lawsuit the Texas judge ruled on, but on Thursday it agreed to hear arguments in February for the lawsuit brought to the 8th Circuit. The Supreme Court could choose to combine the two cases and hear arguments for them early next year.

In light of the lawsuits, Biden recently extended the pause on student-loan payments through June 30, or whenever the lawsuits are resolved — whichever comes first. The administration also continues to express confidence that it will prevail in court and stands behind the authority it used under the HEROES Act of 2003 to enact one-time debt relief for millions of borrowers.

"Our student debt relief program is necessary to help 40M eligible Americans struggling under the burden of student loan debt recover from the pandemic," Education Secretary Miguel Cardona wrote on Twitter on Thursday. "That's 40M borrowers who chased the American dream through higher education. I look forward to SCOTUS hearing our case."

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