Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness

The Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program is intended to encourage individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession. Under this program, individuals who teach full-time for five consecutive complete academic years in certain elementary and secondary schools that serve low-income families and meet other qualifications may be eligible for forgiveness of up to $5,000, and in some cases up to $17,500, in principal and interest of their Direct Loan and/or Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans and certain consolidation loans.

The Chief Administrative Officer of the school at which you performed your qualifying teaching service must certify your completion and other qualifying attributes. If you taught at different schools during different academic years, each Chief Administrative Officer must certify your qualifying status. If you taught at different schools within one academic year, but still completed a full academic year's service, either one of the Chief Academic Officers may certify your eligibility.

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Definitions

  • An academic year is:
    • one complete school year at the same school, or
    • two complete and consecutive half years at different schools, or
    • two complete and consecutive half years from different school years at either the same school or different schools.

    Half years exclude summer sessions and generally fall within a 12 month period. For schools that have a year-round program of instruction, a minimum of nine months is considered an academic year.

  • The Chief Administrative Officer is the official in your school (such as a principal or assistant principal) with responsibility for supervising your employment as a teacher and who has access to records relating to your experience and qualifications for teaching.

  • An elementary school is a public or nonprofit private school that provides elementary education as determined by State law or, if the school is not in a State, by the U.S. Department of Education.

  • Full-time means the standard used by the State in defining full-time employment as a teacher. If you teach in more than one school, full-time is based on the combination of all your qualifying employment.

  • Loans that are eligible for forgiveness are Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loans, and that portion of a Consolidation loan that was used to pay off a Stafford or Direct Stafford/Ford loan.

  • A secondary school is a public or nonprofit private school that provides secondary education as determined by State law or, if the school is not in a State, by the U.S. Department of Education.

  • A teacher is a person who provides direct classroom teaching or classroom-type teaching in a non-classroom setting, including Special Education teachers. A school librarian or guidance counselor is not considered a teacher for the purposes of this loan forgiveness program.

Eligibility Requirements

  • To qualify for loan forgiveness under this program, you must not have had an outstanding balance on a Direct or FFELP loan as of October 1, 1998, or on the date that you obtained a Direct or FFELP loan after October 1, 1998.

  • The loans for which you are seeking forgiveness must have been made prior to the end of your fifth year of qualifying teaching service.

  • You must not have received a benefit through the AmeriCorps Program under Subtitle D of Title 1 of the National and Community Service Act of 1990 for the same teaching service you are using to seek qualification for forgiveness under this program.

  • You must have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete academic years, at least one of which was after the 1997-1998 academic year, in an elementary or secondary school that:
    • Is in a school district that qualifies for funds under Title 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended;
    • Has been selected by the U.S. Department of Education based on a determination that more than 30 percent of the school’s total enrollment is made up of children who qualify for services provided under Title 1; and
    • Is listed in the Annual Directory of Designated Low-income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits.
    • Note that the U.S. Department of Education considers all elementary and secondary schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or operated on Indian reservations by Indian tribal groups under contract with the BIA to qualify as schools servicing low-income students.

  • The program provides forgiveness of up to $17,500 if you are:
    • employed as a highly qualified math or science teacher in an eligible secondary school
    • employed as a highly qualified special education teacher of children with disabilities in an eligible elementary or secondary school.

  • If you began teaching in an eligible elementary school before October 30, 2004, the Chief Administrative Officer of your school must certify that you have demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the elementary school curriculum.

  • If you began teaching in an eligible secondary school before October 30, 2004, the Chief Administrative Officer of your school must certify that you have taught in a subject area that is relevant to your academic major.

  • If you began teaching in an eligible elementary or secondary school on or after October 30, 2004, the Chief Administrative Officer of your school must certify that you are highly qualified.

  • “Highly qualified” teachers are:
    • Those who are fully certified or passed a state licensing exam and are licensed by the state in which the teacher teaches;
    • On or after July 1, 2006, those private school teachers who are exempt from state certification requirements, may in lieu of the above requirements, have such employment treated as qualifying employment as provided by the Budget Reconciliation Act of 2006.
    • New teachers who hold a bachelor's degree and pass a rigorous state test demonstrating knowledge and teaching skills (secondary school teachers also must complete major, graduate degree, or course work equivalent to a major in teacher areas); or
    • Other teachers who demonstrate competence in subject areas in which they teach based on uniform state standards.

  • If you are a highly qualified special education teacher, the Chief Administrative Officer of your school must certify that your primary responsibility is to provide special education to children with disabilities that correspond with your special education training and that you have demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the content areas of the elementary or secondary school curriculum that you are teaching.

Terms and Conditions

  • You are not eligible for forgiveness if you are in default on a Direct or FFELP loan unless you have made satisfactory repayment arrangements with the holder of your loan.

  • Payments that have already been made on your loan will not be refunded.

  • You will be responsible for repayment of any balance remaining.

Applying for Federal Teacher Loan Forgiveness

To apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness download the PDF file below that contains the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application. Please print, complete the application and mail to:

AES/PHEAA
Attn: Loan Discharge
1200 N. 7th Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102-1444

Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application (92 KB PDF)

If you need assistance completing this application, call: 717-720-2676 or 1-800-692-7392.

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