Fixes in the administration of the federal student loan program will help more than 11,000 Kentuckians discharge almost $448 million in debt. (Getty Images)

More than 11,000 student loan borrowers in Kentucky are eligible for automatic relief from almost a half-billion in debt under a plan announced last week by the Biden administration.?

A news release from the U.S. Department of Education says the debt discharges are part of a “commitment to address historical failures in the administration” of the federal student loan program.

Nationwide more than 800,000 borrowers will have their remaining debt wiped out.

The $39 billion in debt relief will come through fixes to mismanagement of the agency’s income-driven repayment plans. Many long-time borrowers, including those who had been making payments for 20 years or more, were denied relief they were eligible for under the repayment plans. Qualified payments that were made were not accounted for.

The education department was to begin notifying eligible borrowers of their forgiveness last week, and within 30 days their debts are to be wiped out.

In Kentucky, borrowers eligible for discharge total 11,180 and the debt eligible for discharge totals $447.7 million.?