Spouses and parents of individuals who died or became totally and permanently disabled due to injuries suffered in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks may be eligible for a discharge of 100 percent of the remaining balance on federal student loans borrowed or endorsed on behalf of the individual. (Amounts previously paid are not eligible for a refund.) This includes the portion of a federal consolidation loan that repaid such a loan.
Affected individuals include victims of the terrorist attacks and public servants, including police officers, firefighters, EMTs, other safety or rescue personnel, and members of the U.S. Armed Forces. The affected individual must have been present at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Virginia, or at the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, site at the time or in the immediate aftermath of the aircraft crashes on September 11, 2001. This includes individuals who were present in portions of the buildings that were destroyed or in an area sufficiently close to the crash site that there was a risk of physical harm (e.g., from falling debris). It also includes anyone who was on American Airlines flights 11 or 77 or United Airlines flights 93 or 175 on September 11, 2001.