Administration drops appeal over public service loan forgiveness limits
The administration dropped its appeal of a ruling that blocked limits on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. The Justice Department agreed to dismiss the case without explaining the decision, and the filing said each side would cover its own legal costs. The Education Department had tried to exclude workers at certain nonprofits from eligibility.
The Justice Department this week withdrew its appeal of a summer court ruling that had stopped the Education Department from narrowing Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility. The dismissal filing gave no reason beyond stating that both sides would bear their own legal expenses.
The disputed policy would have denied forgiveness to employees of some nonprofits, including groups focused on immigration rights and other causes the administration opposed. PSLF generally erases remaining student debt for government and nonprofit workers after ten years of qualifying payments.
The decision may preserve forgiveness access for workers at nonprofits that had been targeted, reducing uncertainty for borrowers nearing ten years of qualifying payments. It could also signal that similar eligibility restrictions may face higher legal hurdles, though the dismissal itself offers no broader precedent. Employees in government and nonprofit roles, especially those at advocacy-oriented organizations, may feel the most immediate effect; borrowers could still face confusion as other loan-program changes proceed.