In the US, discharging student loans under bankruptcy is not as accessible as most other forms of debt. I believe that part of addressing the student debt/affordability crisis should include making student loans a lot easier to discharge through bankruptcy. I do not believe that there is any rational justification to treat student debt any differently under bankruptcy laws than most other types of consumer debt. Like most other types of debt, student borrowers most likely have all the best intentions to make good on their obligations to pay it all back, but if their personal situations make that infeasible, it should not be their last hope for the political winds to lead to some sort of debt cancellation.

Here are the arguments I have had people make against this proposal:

Why should students who borrowed so much money be able to have it discharged under bankruptcy?

The intent of this effort would be for lenders to not loan students so much money in the first place, without seriously considering the possibility that if they are unable to pay it back that they can get it discharged under bankruptcy.

It might also incentivize lenders to more closely scrutinize a borrower's intended usage of those funds, such as which degree they intend to pursue and how realistic graduation is for them, much like lenders scrutinize other types of loan requests. For example, it is commonplace for borrowers looking for a business loan to have to submit formal business proposals, lenders could use similar approaches to vet student loan borrowers as well.

And with lenders more selective in loaning out student debt, it could potentially also help reduce the extent that colleges charge tuition in the first place.

Isn't this just a handout to irresponsible student borrowers?

Filing for bankruptcy is not any sort of handout. It requires a great deal of scrutiny of a borrower's financial situation, making sure it is truly a debt that the borrower cannot realistically pay back without serious assistance. With judicial review, the courts can consider a borrower's ability to pay the debt back, how much value they likely gained from those borrowed funds, and other factors that mean a more structured approach to absolving the debt in a way that takes a borrower's individual circumstances into account. And at the end of that adjudicated process, the borrower can have a real fresh start, just like with other debts.

What happens if a borrower gets the loans discharged under bankruptcy, then goes on to enjoy a lucrative career thanks to their college degree that they never paid for?

Again, that doesn't seem that different from any other type of debt load that gets discharged through bankruptcy. Once could also argue that if it leads to a more-educated, more-productive population, then society benefits overall.

One could also argue for a new Chapter of bankruptcy law to deal with student loan debt specifically. So if a student's situation changes in the future so that they are able to pay back the debts after all, the original lenders can come back for additional repayment.

Summary

This is not an argument for student debt forgiveness or cancellation, just for treating it the same under bankruptcy laws as most other debts. Borrowers and lenders alike should be forced to face the serious consequences of what happens if a borrower should find themselves unable to pay that debt back, and both parties should have to face the possibility that the debt never gets paid back at all and is even backed with a judicial ruling, without feeling insulated from such a problematic outcome.