The Trump administration is once again trying to limit eligibility for a major student-loan forgiveness program.
On Thursday, the Department of Education appealed a June ruling that blocked its plan to narrow the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program from taking effect.
PSLF forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years of qualifying payments. The department planned to implement a rule on July 1 that would have excluded employers from the program that did not align with the administration’s definition of “public service,” including those that provide gender affirming care, support illegal immigration, or advance terrorism.
According to the rule, the education secretary would determine whether an employer engaged in an illegal activity substantial enough to disqualify it from the program. The employer would have the opportunity to rebut the findings, and if unsuccessful, the affected borrowers would no longer be able to make progress toward forgiveness unless they switched to a different, qualifying employer.
A series of lawsuits filed by nonprofits and advocacy groups sought to block the rule from taking effect, arguing that the rule was politically driven and would harm public service workers and employers. The courts agreed; District Judge Amir Ali wrote in his ruling that if Congress, when creating PSLF, intended to give the education secretary the authority to determine which employers qualify for PSLF, “it knew how to do so.”
With the appeal, there are no immediate changes to PSLF, and borrowers are not yet affected. The case will progress through the court, and a judge will make another determination.
“We look forward to arguing before the DC Circuit to uphold this ruling that the Trump PSLF Rule was illegal, and ensuring that the government upholds its promise to our teachers, first responders, servicemembers and countless more public servants,” Aaron Ament, president of borrower advocacy group Student Defense — one of the groups that filed the lawsuit — said in a statement.
Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a previous statement that the rule is intended to “ensure federal benefits go to our Nation’s teachers, first responders, and civil servants who tirelessly serve their communities.”
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