In lawsuit, AFSCME and allies slam administration for attacking PSLF

BOSTON – AFSCME has teamed up with a number of cities, unions and nonprofits to sue the U.S. Department of Education over unlawful changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.  

The lawsuit accuses the Trump-Vance administration of illegally hijacking PSLF to silence governments and nonprofit organizations that do work the administration doesn’t like. 

The administration’s action breaks a decades-old bipartisan congressional promise to support those who choose to dedicate their careers to public service.  

The new PSLF rule would allow the Secretary of Education to disqualify government and nonprofit employers that disagree with the Trump-Vance administration’s policies from the PSLF program. For more information, read our previous story on the administration’s proposal.  

The coalition warns that any effort to weaponize PSLF will have a chilling effect on the entire public service workforce. For example, cities across the nation employ teachers, firefighters, social workers, and health care workers who risk losing access to debt relief should the administration seek to punish their city for policies they do not like. 

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that the new PSLF rule is a blatant violation of the Higher Education Act (HEA) passed by Congress. AFSCME and others are asking the courts to strike down the rule and safeguard the PSLF program as Congress intended: a bipartisan promise to those who choose to serve their communities, regardless of politics. 

“The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows nurses, first responders, corrections officers, school staff and more to support their families while serving their communities,” said AFSCME President Lee Saunders. “Gutting this program will worsen the public service staffing crisis while weakening the essential services communities rely on. We’re filing this lawsuit to protect the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program so working people can continue to afford to serve their communities in the jobs they love.” 

Plaintiffs include: City of Albuquerque, City of Boston, City of Chicago, City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Legal Aid DC, National Association of Social Workers, National Council of Nonprofits, Oasis Legal Services, American Federation of Teachers, and National Education Association.  

The coalition is represented by Protect Borrowers and Democracy Forward in this matter; the County of Santa Clara and City and County of San Francisco represent themselves. 

“This administration has, yet again, unlawfully targeted people who work in the public interest. And so we again are in court,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward. “Politically motivated retaliation, like what the administration has done here, should have no place in America.” 

“ED’s PSLF rule is an illegal attempt to weaponize the federal government against its own people,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director and managing counsel at Protect Borrowers. “The Trump-Vance administration is telling a generation of dedicated public servants that their work only counts if it aligns with a MAGA political agenda. This betrays the nonpartisan promise of PSLF and the core principles of our nation.”