SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. 552a); Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law 100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, published in the Federal Register on June 19, 1989 (54 FR 25818); and OMB Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby provided of the re-establishment of the matching program between the Department and VA.

Participating Agencies

The U.S. Department of Education and the Social Security Administration.

Authority for Conducting the Matching Program

ED's legal authority to enter into this agreement and to disclose information under this agreement is sections 420N(c), 437(a)(1), 455(a)(1), and 464(c)(1)(F)(ii & iii) of the Higher Education Act (HEA) (20 U.S.C. 1070g-2(c), 1087(a)(1), 1087e(a)(1), and 1087dd(c)(1)(F)(ii & iii)). SSA's legal authority to disclose information under this agreement is section 1106 of the Act (42 U.S.C. 1306) and the regulations promulgated pursuant to that section (20 CFR part 401). Subsection (b)(3) of the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3)) allows SSA to make the disclosure without the prior written consent of the individuals to whom the records pertain.

Purpose(s)

This matching program will assist ED in allowing borrowers who have balances on Title IV loans or have had Title IV loans written off due to default and recipients of TEACH Grants who have service or repayment obligations whom SSA identifies as disabled with MINE status using data about disability onset dates and review cycles, should they wish to do so, to more efficiently and effectively apply for TPD discharge of their Title IV loans or TEACH Grant service or repayment obligations. ED proactively sends notices to such Title IV borrowers and TEACH Grant recipients whom SSA identifies as disabled. The notice informs the individual that ED will discharge the borrowers' Title IV loans or recipients' TEACH Grants with service or repayment obligations. ED will not process the discharge earlier than 61 days after the notice date, unless within 60 days of that date, the individual either chooses an earlier discharge or chooses to opt out of the TPD discharge process. The notices also inform these Title IV borrowers and TEACH Grant recipients that ED will accept their matched MINE information in lieu of the submission of a paper application and SSA certification letter to ED. If Title IV student loan borrowers and TEACH Grant recipients do not apply for the TPD loan discharge, their SSA benefits may be offset to repay their Title IV loans or TEACH Grants with repayment obligations.

Categories of Individuals

This matching program covers veterans whom the VA has designated as having a service-connected disability rating that is 100 percent disabling or being totally disabled based on an individual unemployability rating, as described in 38 CFR 3.4(b) and 3.340, and who have title IV loans (as defined above).

Categories of Records

This matching program covers the following records on the aforementioned individuals: the name (first, middle, and last), date of birth (DOB), and Social Security number (SSN), and an indicator if the medical data in SSA's Disability Control File (DCF) indicates MINE status.

System(s) of Records

SSA will disclose to ED information from the DCF, which originates from the system of records identified as “Completed Determination Record—Continuing Disability Determinations” (60-0050), last published in full in the Federal Register on November 25, 2025 (90 FR 53413). VA has determined that routine use 39 in the foregoing system of records is compatible with the purpose for which the information is collected and contains appropriate Privacy Act disclosure authority.

ED will disclose information to SSA from the system of records entitled “National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)” (18-11-06), the system of records notice last published in full in the Federal Register on April 22, 2026 (91 FR 21480).

ED will maintain information obtained from SSA in the NSLDS (18-11-06), and in “Aid Awareness and Application Processing (18-11-21)”, as last published in full in the Federal Register on April 22, 2026 (91 FR 21450).

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, 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 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.

91 FR 54862