Editorial Board

Let Student Borrowers Declare Bankruptcy, Already

Judges are right to question the special status of student debt.

Not the best system.

Photographer: William B. Plowman/Getty Images

For decades, the U.S. system of higher education has operated on a unique premise: To make college affordable for a broad swathe of Americans, student debt must be an almost inviolable obligation.

Now, authorities are starting to question that assumption. It’s about time.