Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The order directs the Secretary of Education to propose new regulations that would exclude organizations with a 'substantial illegal purpose' from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, covering categories such as immigration law violations, terrorism support, child abuse, illegal discrimination, and pattern violations of state tort laws.
Requires rulemaking to reshape which employers qualify for PSLF — potentially removing nonprofit and advocacy organizations from the program — but does not itself change student loan eligibility rules; any real-world impact depends on a future regulatory process.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Secretary of Education, coordinating with the Secretary of the Treasury as appropriate, to propose revisions to the federal regulation governing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (34 CFR 685.219). Those revisions must redefine "public service" to exclude organizations whose activities have a substantial illegal purpose. The five enumerated categories cover: aiding or abetting violations of federal immigration laws; supporting designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations or using violence to influence federal policy; child abuse including certain gender-related medical procedures on minors and interstate child trafficking; patterns of aiding illegal discrimination; and patterns of violating state tort laws such as trespass, vandalism, and obstruction of highways.
The order does not itself amend the PSLF regulation, change any borrower's eligibility, or cancel or deny any loan forgiveness. Any operative change to the program requires the Secretary to complete a formal notice-and-comment rulemaking process under applicable law. The order also contains a standard severability clause and states it creates no enforceable legal rights for any party.
Who it affects
Borrowers with federal student loans who work — or plan to work — at nonprofit or public-sector organizations that could fall under the enumerated exclusion categories, as well as the organizations themselves. The Secretary of Education and Department of the Treasury are directed to act.
Why it matters
Borrowers at advocacy organizations, immigration-services nonprofits, and other groups that may be deemed to have a "substantial illegal purpose" could lose access to loan forgiveness worth tens of thousands of dollars if the proposed rule takes effect after rulemaking.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The order triggers a rulemaking arc: the Secretary of Education must draft and publish a proposed rule amending 34 CFR 685.219, coordinate with Treasury as needed, and navigate the standard notice-and-comment process before any change becomes binding. No deadline is set for the proposed rule. The order itself has no enforcement mechanism — it is a directive to initiate rulemaking — and the standard general-provisions clause preserves OMB budgetary authority and clarifies no new private rights are created.
Actions and deadlines
- Propose revisions to 34 CFR 685.219 to exclude organizations with a substantial illegal purpose from the PSLF Program definition of 'public service'