On Friday, Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona announced that the Biden administration has introduced a new student debt relief proposal aimed at assisting eight million borrowers facing “financially devastating hardships” that prevent them from repaying their loans.

This new plan is part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to alleviate student loan debt, following the Supreme Court’s rejection last year of a larger $400 billion initiative intended to aid around 45 million borrowers. The proposal is expected to face legal opposition.

If enacted, the regulation would grant the secretary of education authority to forgive federal student loans in cases where the Department of Education determines that hardships “may hinder the borrower’s ability to fully repay the loan or make continued collection costs unreasonable.”

Such hardships may include unexpected medical expenses, high child or elder care costs, or financial losses due to natural disasters, according to the department.

“For far too long, our broken student loan system has made it extremely difficult for borrowers facing heartbreaking, financially devastating hardships to access relief. This isn’t fair,” Mr. Cardona said in a statement.

While the Biden administration has sought to address student debt as a national economic issue and has pursued various targeted relief programs, legal challenges from Republican-led states have consistently hindered these efforts, arguing that they exceed the Department of Education’s lawful authority.

The proposed regulation introduces two pathways to loan forgiveness. In one pathway, loans could be automatically forgiven for borrowers deemed to have an 80 percent likelihood of default within two years, based on a department analysis of borrower data. This analysis would factor in 17 criteria, such as household income, assets, total debt, and federal student aid received.

The second pathway would require borrowers to apply for forgiveness, providing documentation of their hardship and submitting financial details for a “holistic assessment” by the department.

This proposal, like previous plans this year, will undergo a review and a period for public feedback after it is published in the Federal Register in the coming weeks, with a goal for finalization next year.

However, the proposal’s future is uncertain, given the legal challenges. Recently, a federal judge in Missouri blocked a similar rule that would have authorized some debt forgiveness for borrowers with long-standing loans.

Opponents argue this new plan is the administration’s last effort to broaden eligibility for debt relief after earlier attempts stalled. Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the ranking Republican on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, criticized the proposal, stating that President Biden and Vice President Harris were again attempting to implement a “student loan scheme” that shifts the burden to Americans who either chose not to go to college or have already paid off their loans.

Education officials claim the plan provides necessary protection against unexpected challenges that can disrupt loan repayment, pointing to the economic impact of recent hurricanes Helene and Milton. Despite the legal hurdles, student advocacy groups have praised the proposal for addressing the high costs of college and the heavy financial and emotional burden of large student debts.

“This proposal acknowledges a reality Americans have known for decades — that too often, higher education fails to deliver on its promise of economic mobility and stability, and borrowers and their families shouldn’t be condemned to lifelong debt as a result,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, in a statement.