Public Service Workers Get a Break on Student Debt

The Department of Education has approved approximately $4.5 billion in additional student loan forgiveness for over 60,000 public service workers nationwide.

This milestone reflects key reforms to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program implemented by the Biden-Harris administration. To date, over $175 billion in loan forgiveness has been approved for more than 4.8 million borrowers, including $74 billion for over one million public servants under PSLF.

The latest announcement highlights the number of borrowers and the total relief provided in each state, marking significant progress in the administration’s goal to extend relief to as many borrowers as possible. Before President Biden took office, only 7,000 public service workers had received loan forgiveness through PSLF.

“I’m incredibly proud that more than one million teachers, nurses, social workers, veterans, and other public servants have achieved life-changing loan forgiveness,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “This demonstrates that a career in public service is not only a noble calling but also a dependable path to becoming debt-free within ten years.”

The PSLF program benefits public servants—including teachers, nurses, social workers, first responders, and service members—by forgiving the remaining student loan balance after 120 qualifying monthly payments. The relief announced includes borrowers who took advantage of the limited PSLF waiver, which ended in October 2022, and those benefiting from ongoing regulatory improvements under the Biden-Harris administration.

In addition to these fixes, further steps have been taken to make the program more accessible. Beginning July 1, 2024, PSLF is fully managed by the Department of Education via StudentAid.gov, eliminating reliance on a single specialty loan servicer.

For the first time, borrowers can manage every aspect of their PSLF process directly on StudentAid.gov, including submitting forms and tracking progress toward forgiveness. These updates simplify the process and ensure faster processing of PSLF applications.

In response to this announcement, several organizations have introduced new resources to help public servants take advantage of PSLF. Key initiatives include:

• The American Federation of Teachers (AFT): Organizing student debt clinics to assist members with PSLF applications, aiming to help an additional 500 teachers and nurses by year’s end.
• The National Education Association (NEA): Offering one-on-one support through the NEA Student Debt Navigator tool for members struggling with PSLF or other federal loan programs.
• American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME): Launching an interactive map displaying PSLF forgiveness data and updating online resources to support applications. AFSCME has also created a social media toolkit to help members promote PSLF.

For more information on PSLF and other student loan resources, visit StudentAid.gov.

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This article was originally published on diversitycomm.net.