Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness is a reality and teachers have more options for debt forgiveness than virtually any other profession. PSLF forgives balances on federal Direct and FFEL loans after 120 qualifying payments have been made – an example being PSLF’s forgiveness policy for federal loans such as Direct/FFEL combo loans after 120 payments qualify.
Many states also offer loan forgiveness programs, particularly for teachers working in areas of high need. To learn more, reach out to your state education agency.
Investing in Our Educators
Student loan forgiveness can be an effective means of recruiting and retaining teachers in hard-to-fill positions, while also giving teachers the chance to take jobs they’re best qualified for and make real contributions to our communities.
Before pursuing student loan forgiveness programs, however, it’s essential to fully comprehend how they operate. There are four primary ways that teachers may qualify for student loan forgiveness.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF)
As a teacher teaching in low-income schools or educational service agencies, you could qualify to have your federal student loans forgiven after five years of service. To be eligible, full-time teaching must have occurred across each year of service, while subject shortage areas or hard to staff areas were identified as needing coverage by being “hard to staff.” Maximum debt forgiveness available under Direct Loan and FFEL programs; please use Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory to see if your school qualifies.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
After making 120 qualifying payments under either Direct Loans or FFEL programs, you could qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. In order to do so, however, your employer must be government or not-for-profit organization; teachers working for private organizations may still qualify; Perkins Loans no longer do as they were discontinued as of 2017.
Another option available to you is taking advantage of one of 45 state-based programs designed to assist districts that are experiencing staffing shortages. A database can be found through American Federation of Teachers that lists these programs.
While these programs can be helpful, they aren’t a panacea. Record-high tuition costs and debt levels could be deterring potential teachers from entering the profession; luckily for qualified teachers just starting their careers who wish to enter teaching, other options exist to offset those costs, including grants and scholarships that offer financial aid.
Investing in Our Future
If you have taken out a loan specifically tailored for teachers, there may be ways out. Many student loan forgiveness programs exist specifically to support teachers – generally teaching for an established number of years in a certain subject area is enough to qualify for forgiveness programs.
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, administered by the United States Department of Education, provides multiple repayment options, such as up to 120 qualifying payments on an approved repayment plan while working toward loan forgiveness. To determine your eligibility for any of these federal loan forgiveness programs, it’s best to contact your loan servicer – this company handles billing and other services for federal student loans.
To qualify for teacher loan forgiveness, you must have worked full-time for five consecutive years in either a public school or nonprofit educational organization (such as private, religious or non-profit ). In addition, the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application must also be filled out, with your superintendent, human resources officer or principal signing off on sections of it – this application can be downloaded from Federal Student Aid website.
Combining Teacher Loan Forgiveness with Public Service Loan Forgiveness can maximize your benefits; however, separate time commitments must be fulfilled for each program: five for Teacher Loan Forgiveness and 10 for PSLF. Furthermore, teaching must take place as part of either AmeriCorps National Teaching Service or similar initiative in order to count toward Teacher Loan Forgiveness.
Many states offer loan forgiveness programs for teachers that vary by state; some only offer partial forgiveness while others provide forgivable student loans for those teaching subjects like mathematics, science, special education and foreign languages – which have high shortage rates.
There are various private loan forgiveness programs that offer incentives for those pursuing teaching as a career, including reduced interest rates, deferment of payments or loan cancellation. These programs may prove particularly helpful to those still paying off existing debt and who cannot take on more.
Investing in Our Communities
Many people don’t realize that loan forgiveness programs specifically for teachers exist, offering teachers an effective means of paying off some or all of their student loans. Eligibility will depend on the type of loans held as well as length of teaching service – speak to your loan servicer about possible solutions tailored specifically to you based on what options might work best given your personal situation and loans held.
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program can forgive up to $17,500 of federal Direct and Stafford loans held by teachers working full-time at low-income elementary and secondary schools or educational service agencies that serve low-income students. To qualify, fully-qualified teachers must have worked at these locations for five consecutive years while maintaining a federal income-driven repayment plan of at least ten years with at least 120 qualifying payments made towards it – and any amounts forgiven are non-taxable.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a similar program that forgives the remaining balance of certain federal Direct and FFEL loans after you’ve made 120 on-time payments in an eligible repayment plan while working full time for either government or non-profit organization. Most teachers at public schools or 501(c)(3) nonprofit private schools qualify; it’s best to check with each institution or loan servicer to ensure you meet their criteria before taking part.
TEACH Grant provides grants to teachers willing to work in high-need areas of the country, with amounts depending on your student loan balance and potential tuition costs at some schools.
State-level programs also provide loan forgiveness options for teachers. Check with your state education agency or department for details, although these may not be as generous as federal Teacher or Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs but could still help alleviate a significant portion of student debt.
Investing in Our Economy
Due to rising college costs and record student loan debt levels, many young people may be dissuaded from choosing teaching as a profession due to living expenses not covering any student loan debt repayment. Luckily, both the federal and some state governments offer teacher loan forgiveness programs designed to encourage educators into this important career field. Student loan forgiveness (also referred to as loan cancellation or debt discharge) occurs when either the federal, state or local governments erase some or all of your balance on your student loans.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is one of the most popular loan forgiveness programs for teachers. This option allows them to get complete loan forgiveness after making 120 qualifying payments on their 10-year federal student loan repayment plan while working full time teaching.
For PSLF to apply, teachers must have taught at a low-income school or educational services agency that provides services to low-income students for five complete and consecutive years – this could include schools eligible for Title I funding as well as many private and non-profit schools; teachers who worked AmeriCorps may also qualify. Those who qualify can have up to $17,500 of their federal Direct Loans, FFEL Loans or Stafford Loans forgiven through PSLF.
State Teacher Loan Forgiveness Programs (STLFs), like PSLF, provide loan forgiveness options to teachers with less generous eligibility requirements. You must teach high-need subject areas like math, science, special education or foreign languages in order to qualify. Furthermore, there may be restrictions placed upon how many years can be taught under these programs, so research must be completed thoroughly prior to applying.
If you need assistance choosing the appropriate loan forgiveness program, speaking to someone from your loan servicer or organization that holds student loans may help. They will explain all your available options and help determine which will provide optimal relief based on factors like what type of loans you hold, their types, amounts owed and where you work.