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Public Service Loan Forgiveness

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The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was created to provide public service workers with student loan debt relief in exchange for a decade of service in their communities. Unfortunately, since its inception, the program has been mishandled and undermined by the Department of Education and the student loan industry. As a result, millions of public service workers have been cheated out of their right to loan forgiveness guaranteed under federal law.

The SBPC is working with partners to expose mismanagement and abuse in the PSLF program and to advocate for reforms to better protect borrowers working in public service.

Supporting Public Servants:

SBPC and AFT Investigation on Servicing Breakdowns in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

The SBPC and AFT expose millions of student loan servicing errors in the PSLF program. The investigation found loans owed by at least 1.3 million borrowers had servicing errors due to the mismanagement of student loan servicing company Affiliated Computer Systems.


SBPC and AFT Investigation on Mismanagement and Abuse on Scandal-Plagued Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

The SBPC and AFT expose new instances of mismanagement and abuse in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.


Keeping the Promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness

This report details the SBPC and the American Federation of Teacher’s joint investigation into allegations of rampant mismanagement and industry abuses undermining the federal PSLF program.


SBPC and Labor Unions Demand CFPB Crackdown on Illegal Practices that Deny Public Service Workers Access to Loan Forgiveness

In a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the SBPC and labor unions, demand the CFPB utilize its authorities to protect student loan borrowers working in public service.

PSLF in the News:

Marketwatch

After 6 years, This Nurse Practitioner was Told Her Public-Service Job Did Not Qualify for Student-Debt Forgiveness. She Fought that Decision, But Many Others are Left in Limbo

A new report suggests that Straw is not alone in her experience. Since 2012, the Department of Education has told borrowers more than 50,000 times that their employer is ineligible for PSLF.


NPR

Exclusive: Turf War Blocked CFPB From Helping Fix Student Loan Forgiveness Program

Now NPR has learned that the nation’s most powerful consumer watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, launched an effort to fix problems but the Trump administration blocked it from trying to help.


A Teacher’s Student Loans Were Forgiven. Then FedLoan Wrecked His Credit

The forgiveness program is just one part of a fundamentally broken student loan servicing system, as the Department of Education’s own inspector general pointed out last week. 


The Washington Post

Seeking Forgiveness: The Dizzying Journey for Public Servants with Student Debt

To understand the complexity of the dispute process, it’s important to first understand the complexity of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.


Politico

Unions Press CFPB Over Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The letter, led by the Student Loan Borrower Protection Center and American Federation of Teachers, was signed by unions that collectively represent more than 17 million workers.

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