Governor Hochul Signs Legislation to Expand Public Servants’ Access to Student Loan Forgiveness

Legislation (S.8389-C/A.9523-B) Removes Barriers to Accessing Federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program by Clarifying Key Terms, Allowing Employers to Certify Employment 

Announces Statewide Outreach Effort to Help Eligible New Yorkers Take Advantage of Federal Time-Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver

Governor Hochul: “If you’re teaching the next generations of our doers and thinkers, if you’re out there keeping our streets safe, if you’re serving in our military, you’re helping government run smoothly, if you’re a health care worker who spent time in the depths of hell during this pandemic – that $61,000, it is real money you can spend on the mortgage that you only dreamed about having.” 

Hochul: “Student debt doesn’t just defer your dreams. It can derail your life if you get caught under this situation where you’re trying to be liberated from it. We’re here to change that.”

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to expand and simplify access to the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program statewide. The new legislation establishes uniformity around what qualifies as full-time employment for the purposes of accessing PSLF and allows public service employers to certify employment on behalf of workers, eliminating substantial barriers to applying for and accessing PSLF.

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“So today, we’re kicking off a campaign to raise awareness about the waiver, the deadline, the eligibility requirements, we’re working with organizations across the state who’ve pledged to help us. And also, DFS has created a toolkit. Here’s some information, real simple. Real easy here, big print for people like me. Big print, you can see this. Okay.

Let’s make sure people know about this. There’s a website, you can access information, but we’re also announcing we’re making easier, because we also think that there should be people when you call on a phone, they answer the phone, they answer your questions. We’re also announcing – I’ll be secondarily signing – a bill that makes it easier for other public service employees that take advantage of this. And it establishes that teachers and faculty who work 30 hours a week, including time spent outside of classroom, are considered fulltime workers for purposes of this.” – Governor Kathy Hochul

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