U.S. Department of Education Seeks Input on Extending Public Service Loan Forgiveness to Early Childhood Educators

The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) released a Request for Information (RFI) to gain insights into the operational aspects of potentially expanding Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for individuals working in early childhood education (ECE) settings.
“Early childhood educators play a crucial role in helping young children learn, grow, and flourish. However, they often face inadequate compensation coupled with student debt burdens. By enabling these educators to access Public Service Loan Forgiveness, we can positively impact our youngest children, their families, and the communities they serve,” remarked U.S. Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal.

Since its inception in 2007, PSLF has been an option for Federal student loan borrowers employed by government entities or certain types of non-profit organizations. Qualified borrowers become eligible for loan forgiveness after completing 120 qualifying payments, typically over a span of around 10 years. Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s initiative to revamp the program and extend relief to a larger pool of borrowers, over 900,000 borrowers (compared to 7,000 under the previous Administration) have already received approval for $68 billion in PSLF forgiveness.

While many borrowers have benefited from the program, current PSLF regulations exclude hundreds of thousands of ECE educators, especially those running small businesses, due to their employers’ tax status. The ECE workforce, predominantly comprised of women, including a significant number of women of color and immigrants, remains one of the lowest-paid occupational groups in the nation.

According to data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education conducted by the Department of Health and Human Service’s Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, expanding PSLF eligibility to cover employers of ECE workers, regardless of tax status, has the potential to pave the way for more than 450,000 ECE workers—around 68,000 in home-based settings and 390,000 in center-based settings—to make progress towards PSLF if they hold Federal student loans. This encompasses approximately one-third of the overall ECE workforce.

From the outset, the Biden-Harris Administration has been dedicated to reshaping the flawed student loan system, including creating lasting enhancements to the PSLF program. This request seeks vital information for the Department to explore avenues for expanding PSLF eligibility for ECE workers, aligning with its overarching objectives.

In July 2022, the Department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register outlining proposed enhancements to PSLF with the aim of lessening regulatory and administrative hurdles that hinder borrower progress. Additionally, the NPRM raised queries regarding the potential inclusion of private, for-profit businesses employing ECE workers as eligible employers for PSLF. Subsequently, in November 2022, the final regulations were published in the Federal Register, though they did not address the treatment of private, for-profit ECE providers in terms of PSLF eligibility.

Consequently, the Department is seeking input from researchers, academics, policy experts, administrators, and others knowledgeable about ECE employer data and program administration on determining employer eligibility if for-profit ECE employers offering services specified in the statute are considered eligible employers. The public has a 30-day window to submit comments, which will not impact the rulemaking but will aid in shaping different operational strategies.

For more information on the RFI and instructions for submitting comments, click here.