WASHINGTON — The Education Department reopened enrollment Friday in two student loan repayment plans it had sought to replace, allowing borrowers to transfer out of the alternative program it had proposed, which has been frozen by litigation since July.

The decision revived the Pay As You Earn plan, also known as PAYE, and the Income-Contingent Repayment plan, also known as ICR. They were established in 2012 and 1996, respectively, and mostly closed to new enrollment last year to encourage borrowers to sign up for the administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education program, also known as SAVE.

Phasing out the two plans in favor of an alternative with better terms for many borrowers had been a priority for the department, especially after successful legal challenges thwarted President Joe Biden’s more ambitious student debt forgiveness plans last year.

Emboldened by those rulings, a coalition of attorneys general from Republican states also brought lawsuits challenging the legality of SAVE this year, even after millions had enrolled.

— The New York Times