President Joe Biden waived an additional $4.5 billion in student debt today, Thursday for over 60,000 borrowers who are public service workers.
That’s under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF program.
The Floridians who stand to benefit from this latest round of loan cancellation are teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officials, nurses, veterans and servicemembers.
U.S. Department of Education Under Secretary James Kvaal said this loan forgiveness is life changing.
“We're talking here about people who've decided that, instead of chasing higher salaries, they want to give back to their communities. Many times, that makes student debt a huge burden for them,” Kvaal said.
Kvaal said he’s talked to several teachers who have been working for years and are still paying off student loans they incurred to get their bachelors or masters in education.
“I've talked to people who have been making payments on their loans for 10 years and still owe $77,000 as a high school special education teacher, and they really struggle with supporting their own families while making loan payments and working in these public service jobs,” Kvaal said.
With the additional loan forgiveness, about 55,330 public service workers in Florida have had student loans canceled under the Biden administration, according to the White House.
Florida’s Second District, which is in the Panhandle, is in the top five congressional districts in the country with the most student loan forgiveness.
In total, over 1 million Americans have had their school loans canceled through the PSLF program.
Public service workers who have made the required 120 qualifying monthly payments, along with people who used the limited PSLF waiver, which expired in October 2022, qualify for this program.
Today’s announcement brings the total loan forgiveness approved by the Biden Administration to over $175 billion for more than 4.8 million Americans.
To apply for this loan forgiveness, go to StudentAid.gov where you can submit your PSLF application and track your family’s progress toward loan forgiveness.
Need help? Multiple public service unions are offering help starting today including:
- The American Federation of Teachers. The union will provide student debt clinics which help teachers and school nurses work through student debt and apply for loan forgiveness.
- The National Education Association. The union has a free, online NEA Student Debt Navigator, which provides one-on-one support for NEA members. Teachers can get help filling out their PSLF application.
- The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union offers a new interactive map on its website, detailing PSLF forgiveness, and will offer updated online resources to help with filling out PSLF applications.
Copyright 2024 Central Florida Public Media
