Ruling Blocks the Administration's Attempt to Strip Loan Forgiveness from Public Servants
Boston, M.A. — A broad coalition of over a dozen cities, labor unions, and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education in Boston, MA, charging the Trump-Vance Administration with illegally weaponizing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to silence local governments and nonprofit organizations that do work the Administration does not like. Today, we won.
The case sought to stop a new rule that would change a program intended to support borrowers working in public service jobs into a cudgel that would allow the Secretary of Education to disqualify government and nonprofit employers that serve communities the Administration does not like, like immigrants and transgender people. The Administration's rulemaking to change the PSLF program broke a decades-old bipartisan Congressional promise to support those who choose to dedicate their careers to public service.
Federal District Judge Myong Joun in Boston sided with our coalition, granting our motion for summary judgment and finding that the Administration's PSLF rule exceeded statutory authority, was arbitrary and capricious, and violated the First Amendment. The court vacated the rule in its entirety, meaning it will not go into effect.
This victory protects teachers, firefighters, social workers, healthcare workers, and advocates across the country who had risked losing access to debt relief all because they worked for employers whose opinions and policies differ from the Trump-Vance Administration Today's ruling ensures that the promise of public service loan forgiveness remains intact for the hundreds of thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serving their communities.
PSLF is not a perk for those of us in the nonprofit sector, but the condition that makes our work sustainable,” said Adam Ryan Chang, Executive Director of Oasis Legal Services. “Public interest advocates carry up to six-figure student debt while earning only a fraction of private-sector salaries, and we make life decisions based on the promise this service will be recognized. I enrolled in PSLF in 2013 and followed every requirement, consolidating my loans, and accepting years of accruing interest.
After more than a decade in nonprofit work, making qualified payments, my loan balance has grown to nearly 70% more than what I originally borrowed. That is not an outlier. It is a common reality for borrowers who followed the rules. At Oasis Legal Services, we represent more than 1,000 LGBTQ+ immigrants fleeing persecution and navigating government-created processing delays. Their cases require experienced counsel to prevent unwarranted detention or deportation. When the federal administration attempts to dismantle PSLF, it drives skilled advocates out of public service. This ruling affirms a basic truth: communities cannot access justice if the people fighting for them cannot afford to stay in the work.
Plaintiffs include City of Albuquerque, City of Boston, City of Chicago, City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Legal Aid DC, National Association of Social Workers, National Council of Nonprofits, Oasis Legal Services, AFT, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, and National Education Association. The coalition was represented by Protect Borrowers and Democracy Forward in this matter; the County of Santa Clara and City and County of San Francisco represented themselves.
Read the full opinion here.
Quotes from plaintiffs are available here.