Student Loan Forgiveness For Teachers: A Roadmap

Student loan forgiveness for teachers can help make a tough career decision a lot easier.
Going to school to become a teacher is hard work, and often results in a job that doesn’t pay nearly as well as it should. You knew that when you decided to become a teacher, but altruism won out over the drive to chase the almighty dollar.
As someone who’s the product of the public school system, I’d like to thank you for taking the plunge. Without people like you, kids like me never would have had the chance at a better life.
Thankfully, the U.S. Department of Education also appreciates your efforts and has created two programs:

1. Teacher Cancellation for Federal Perkins Loans; and
2. Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Direct Loans and Stafford Loans.

Here’s a primer to help you better understand your options under these programs.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
The Teacher Loan Forgiveness program may be able to let you have up to 50% of your undergraduate Stafford and Direct Loans. It won’t cover your PLUS Loans, however.
To qualify, you must teach full-time over a period of five consecutive years in failing public schools or in educational agencies serving low-income families.
If you’re eligible, you can have forgiven up to a combined total of $17,500 on your Direct Loans and Stafford Loans.
The U.S. Department of Education maintains an online database of schools, but you can also contact the state education agency contact in the state where the school is located.
The time to apply is after completion of the five year teaching requirement. All you’ll need to do is complete the application, obtain certifications of your service by each of the schools in which you’ve work for the five-year period, and wait for a response.
Perkins Program Teacher Cancellation
If you have a Federal Perkins Loan you may be eligible for loan cancellation if you have been teaching at a low-income school in certain subject areas.
You qualify for cancellation of up to 100 percent of a Federal Perkins Loan if you have served full-time in a public school system teaching low-income students in certain subject areas.
Other Options For Teachers
Some of my clients have found that Public Service Loan Forgiveness works far better than do either of these programs, though others prefer to opt for Teacher Loan Forgiveness. It’s often a tricky decision, and one that I will usually spend days or even weeks poring over.
In addition, many teachers find that using income-based repayment or income-contingent repayment options for their federal student loans makes sense for them during the five-year repayment period required under these programs.
Whatever you do, it’s important to keep track of your payments and service records. They’ll come in handy whatever you do.
Image credit:  ben110
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