Teachers have options when it comes to student loan forgiveness. That means you don’t have to pay your loans back! Find out about programs just for teachers so you don’t miss out on huge amounts of financial relief.  

In this article you’ll find:

• Public Service Loan Forgiveness 
• Teacher Loan Forgiveness 
• Perkins Loan Cancellation for Teachers 
• State-Sponsored Student Loan Forgiveness Programs 

The short answer is yes! You might hear words like loan forgiveness, cancellation and discharge. They basically mean the same thing: You might not have to pay back some or all of your student loans! 

To receive loan forgiveness, you’ll generally commit to teaching for a certain number of years, or in a certain subject or type of school. 

Getting loan forgiveness depends on your loan type, how long you’ve been teaching and a few other things. There are four main loan forgiveness programs for teachers. Three are federal through the Department of Education, and one is state-specific.

Forgiveness of your federal Direct loans balance after 120 payments or about ten years 

The most common way to get your student loans forgiven is through Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This program rewards people in public service careers. That includes teachers!

If you make your student loan payments on time for ten years (or 120 payments) and work full-time in teaching or other public service, you can apply to have the remaining balance of your loans forgiven. You won’t have to pay them back.

There are a few requirements: 

• You must work full-time for a qualified employer, like in public education, early childhood, or childcare. Even some non-profits count!

• Your loans have to be Direct loans to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Eligible Loans:  

• Direct Subsidized Loans
• Direct Unsubsidized Loans
• Direct PLUS Loans
• Direct Consolidation Loans

Ineligible Loans: 

• Federal Family Education Loan
• Federal Perkins Loan
• Student loans from private lenders

You can visit the Federal Student Aid website to learn more and see if you qualify for loan forgiveness through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. 

Forgiveness up to $17,500 of your Direct or Federal Stafford loans after teaching at an eligible school for 5 years

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness program offers teachers in low-income schools or high-needs subjects options for loan forgiveness. 

Highly qualified special education, math, and science teachers can get up to $17,500 of their federal loans canceled. Other teachers can still qualify for up to $5,000. 

To qualify, you have to: 

• Teach for five years in a qualifying school (usually low-income or high-needs)
• Teach full-time for five years in a row
• Have a Direct Loan or Federal Family Education Loan Program loan

Get up to 100% of your federal Perkins loans forgiven for teaching in a low-income school or high-need subject  

Perkins Loan cancellation is for teachers who teach at a school identified as low-income. State education agencies identify low-income schools in their state and report them to a national database. 

You can also qualify if you teach math, science, special education, bilingual education, foreign languages or another shortage area subject. Your state may have different subject areas that qualify, so be sure to look into the specifics where you teach. 

Loan forgiveness options just for Texas teachers

Texas has the Math and Science Scholars Loan Repayment Program. The program is for public school teachers of math and science. You can get up to $10,000 of your loans repaid if you're eligible! 

Learn more about the Texas Math and Science Scholars Loan Repayment Program.

You can also find tons of valuable tips for paying for your teaching program in Teach for Houston's Finances Guide.

https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation