Teachers may get debt relief under new program
By Marcus Clem
Teachers are among those who collectively may be relieved of $6 billion in federal higher education loan debt.
Piloted by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, the expansion applies via the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007, signed by then-President George W. Bush. Some 78,000 people enrolled in its Public Service Loan Forgiveness program will get the relief money. They include educators, nurses and social workers.
About 380,000 others will be notified that if they stay employed for two more years in their current public service industry, their debt also could be canceled. Cardona began his career as an elementary school teacher and a member of the National Education Association teacher union. Its local chapter, the St. Joseph NEA, praised the debt relief program on Monday.
“We know that we’re not working in a field where we’re going to be making lots of money,” said Lynnea Wootten, STJ-NEA president. “But there need to be solutions for people who are in those situations, and that’s why we are grateful for public service loan forgiveness.”
This all assumes that opponents are not again successful at curtailing the administration of President Joe Biden on this issue. It has been busy working around the edges of legal authority to forgive student debt after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped Biden’s highlight program in 2023.
Opponents have argued that Congress must directly sign off on forgiving debt that is owed to the U.S. government and that any alternative violates the U.S. Constitution. Cardona’s department issues the money from the U.S. treasury to pay for higher education expenses. Various third-party companies then work with debtors to get it paid back and hold them to account if they refuse to pay.
St. Joseph Board of Education member David Foster commented on the merits of this targeted forgiveness.
“My understanding of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program is that it was a bipartisan effort, which is great,” he said. “So it doesn’t matter what political affiliation you claim. It’s an opportunity to provide debt relief to address these financial disparities among educators. It can also be looked at as an economic stimulus, a recruitment and retention strategy and the open door for access to future education.”
What ability the program, if it survives judicial review, will have to encourage new teachers is unclear. Benefits, before Biden’s action, could not apply to anyone who has not yet made 120 monthly student loan payments. Those currently studying to be a teacher could potentially plan for debt relief eligibility if they expect to continue to have this financial burden in the decade to come.
