The Trump administration this week proposed sweeping new restrictions on student loan forgiveness for public service borrowers, potentially threatening to shut down debt relief for millions of people based on the activities of the organizations they work for.
The newly unveiled regulations would limit relief under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which offers student loan forgiveness for borrowers who devote at least 10 years to working for qualifying nonprofit organizations or government entities. The Department of Education released proposed rules on Tuesday that would block PSLF for entire organizations or governments that the administration determines are engaged in activities that have a “substantial illegal purpose.”
The Department of Education’s release of the new PSLF regulations follows an executive order President Trump issued in March, instructing the department to draft new rules to curtail student loan forgiveness under the program.
The proposed new PSLF regulations unveiled this week would make sweeping restrictions on student loan forgiveness eligibility based on whether an organization’s activities have a “substantial illegal purpose.” The Trump administration would define “substantial illegal purpose” to include:
Providing healthcare to transgender people under the age of 19, including prescribing puberty blockers or hormone therapy; “Aiding or abetting" violations of federal immigration laws; “Engaging in a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination,” which the administration could interpret to mean advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and “Engaging in a pattern of violating State tort laws,” which can include creating a “public nuisance.”
Under the proposed rules, which would be effective as of July 1, 2026, the Department of Education would prevent borrowers from receiving PSLF credit toward student loan forgiveness for employment with any organization found to be engaged in these activities. The regulations would allow the department, via the Secretary of Education, to make a determination of PSLF employment eligibility based on a "preponderance of the evidence.” The rules would also expressly prevent student loan borrowers from contesting any determination of employer PSLF eligibility.
For now, the PSLF regulations have not been finalized. The Department of Education must continue with negotiated rulemaking – a lengthy process that requires public input and the convening of a committee of key stakeholders that must evaluate the proposal. However, some critics have argued that the department’s negotiated rulemaking committee is being stacked against the interests of borrowers pursuing student loan forgiveness.
Posted by John3262005
2 Comments
“You call that a teacher shortage? Pathetic. I’ll show you a *real* teacher shortage!”
No joke I’ve been at 119 payments for over a year and I’ve been in some weird administrative forbearance and I didn’t do anything about it because I requested they remove the administrative forbearance many times and they refused and I didn’t worry about it because Biden will figure it out any day and there’s no way Trump is gonna win and then my dad died and I had to spend the first 4 months of 2025 taking care of him before he died and since then I’ve had to move across the country to take care of him and I had to move across the country back home and I had to move from my apartment into a house a week after moving back across country and I’ve just been kinda depressed about life but surely Trump won’t do anything and I’m still in this weird administrative forbearance and I only need one more payment so there’s never any reason to worry that much fuck me