IFPTE, NPEU Among Unions Urging Education Sec. Cardona to Take Immediate Action on Public Service Loan Forgiveness

IFPTE and the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union-IFPTE Local 70 (NPEU) joined the National Education Association (NEA) and other unions and labor organizations representing federal sector, public sector, and public service workers in calling for Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to take immediate steps to ensure that the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program (PSLF) provides student debt relief to workers with 10 years of public service.

PSLF was created in 2007 to forgive federal, state, local, and 501(c)(3) and other qualifying nonprofit employees’ remaining student debt after 10 years of service. However, the program’s frequent mismanagement, lack of communication and public information, and complicated and narrow rules have left some 98% of eligible workers without debt relief since 2017, the first year public service workers became eligible for debt relief. These failures have undermined the premise of the program: to ensure that student debt is not a barrier to students who want to establish public service careers.

The letter, organized by the NEA, requests Secretary Cardona conduct an audit of PSLF, involve workers impacted by the program’s failures to have a seat at the table, and forgive student debt for all workers who have 10 years of public service. As noted in the letter, student debt has a disproportionate impact on Black and Brown students and exacerbates the racial wealth gap.

Read the letter from 15 unions and labor organizations to Secretary Carona here [PDF].

Read Politico’s article Unions Demand Biden Cancel Student Debt for Public Service Workers.