Nearly 900,000 Arizonans have unpaid student loan debt that could have been reduced by President Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness proposal.

On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down that plan.

Biden’s plan would have canceled up to $10,000 in student debt for some borrowers, and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.

People have also benefited from a federal COVID-19 student loan forbearance program, which paused payments and set interest rates to 0%. 

Bruce McClary works for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a nonprofit dedicated to providing financial counseling, debt management plans and student loan repayment advice, and other services.

McClary said with payments set to resume Sept. 1, it’s time for borrowers to examine their options.

“There are income-driven repayment plans, loan forgiveness programs, there are ways to consolidate your student debt to more affordably make payments," he said. "There’s also the possibility of continued forbearance or deferment.” 

For example, Public Service Loan Forgiveness provides forgiveness after 120 qualifying payments for individuals who are working in qualifying public service jobs.

"There are other forgiveness programs that might depend on your profession," McClary said. "They’re might even be some programs that are offered as benefits through individual employers.”

McClary said borrowers shouldn’t lose hope over this week’s decision, as there’s likely to be a new approach for federal relief in the near future.

According to educationdata.org, 887,100 student borrowers live in Arizona and 47.7% of them are under the age of 35. The average student loan debt for those borrowers is $35,396.