By Deborah Bailey
AFRO Contributing Editor
The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) on Oct. 17 announced 60,000 additional teachers, nurses, firefighters and government public administrators would have their loans canceled under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.
“I promised to fight to ensure higher education is a ticket to the middle class, not a barrier to opportunity,” said President Biden in the announcement on Oct. 17, reminding the public of his original campaign promise to relieve student debt.
“The 60,000 borrowers who have just been contacted brings the total number of persons whose debt has been canceled to more than 1 million,” said James Kvaal, under secretary of education, in an AFRO interview.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program provides debt cancellation to public service workers at the local, state and federal levels who have accumulated 10 years of repayment and 10 years of public service.
For educators like Jamie Walker-Sallis, who entered the field of special education because there were not enough Black teachers, news that her remaining loan payments were canceled came as a godsend.
“A letter came in the mail. I didn’t believe it,” said Walker-Sallis, who is now the equity and learning support administrator with Davenport Community School District in Iowa. “I looked in my account and it was zero.”
DOE wants borrowers to know that loan forgiveness is ongoing and people who think they qualify for public service loan forgiveness should sign up now at StudentAid.gov.
“We are continuing to process applications for loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program,” said Kvaal. “I encourage all public service professionals to enroll in the Public Service Debt Forgiveness Program now, so we can ensure your payments and years of service are counted toward debt forgiveness.”
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program began in 2007, yet only 7,000 persons had received loan forgiveness before the Biden-Harris administration restructured the program. During the current administration, $175 million in total debt impacting 5 million borrowers has been canceled. While less than the $400 billion in student loan relief Biden originally requested, it exceeds debt relief efforts by prior administrations.
“We expect there will more than likely be another announcement regarding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program before Jan. 20,” Kvaal said.
“I encourage borrowers to contact us even if they believe errors were made in reviewing their information,” he added. “We will review your case. The Department of Education will be working to relieve student loan debt whenever we can for people who have dedicated a portion of their careers to public service.”
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