The American Library Association (ALA) encourages library workers with federal student loans to review their eligibility under the U.S. Department of Education’s Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Library workers in all contexts—school, public, academic and others—with federal student aid may be eligible for the waiver, known as the Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF).

Under the existing PSLF program, federal student loan borrowers employed by government agencies, nonprofit organizations or other organizations that provide public library services or school library services, are eligible to have their federal student loan balance forgiven after making 10 years of qualifying loan payments. Many library workers meet the employer eligibility criteria for the program.

During the TEPSLF period, which ends on October 31, 2022, past payments that would not otherwise count toward PSLF will be made eligible and borrowers who previously would not have qualified for PSLF may now qualify. Borrowers must submit necessary paperwork by Oct. 31, 2022, when TEPSLF ends. The waiver can apply to borrowers with any number of relevant payments, including those who have not yet made 10 years of payments. Applicants can use the Department of Education’s PSLF Help Tool to search for a qualifying employer, learn what actions must be taken to become eligible for PSLF or TEPSLF, and generate the necessary form(s).

To help borrowers learn about the special opportunity for loan forgiveness under the limited waiver, ALA is encouraging library workers to attend one of the monthly free webinars (or view a past session) with student loan experts hosted by the PSLF Coalition, of which ALA is a member.