On October 30, 2026, the American Federation of Teachers filed a class-action lawsuit against Education Secretary Linda McMahon, accusing the U.S. Department of Education of unlawfully stalling Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The union alleges the agency is ignoring 90,000 buyback applications and reversing valid payment credits. Department officials blame Biden-era coding errors for payment adjustments and defend their actions.
AFT lawsuit over Public Service Loan Forgiveness delays
- ▪Speech-language pathologist and lawsuit co-plaintiff Elizabeth Schoepflin stated that the U.S. Department of Education stripped away her earned Public Service Loan Forgiveness payment credits without explanation.
- ▪The American Federation of Teachers and its president Randi Weingarten filed a class-action lawsuit against Education Secretary Linda McMahon over Public Service Loan Forgiveness delays
- ▪The American Federation of Teachers' October 30, 2026 lawsuit alleges the U.S. Department of Education unlawfully reversed previously approved Public Service Loan Forgiveness payment credits and stopped updating online payment trackers starting in July 2026.
- ▪The American Federation of Teachers' October 30, 2026 lawsuit accuses the U.S. Department of Education of unlawfully stalling Public Service Loan Forgiveness for government and nonprofit workers who qualify for debt cancellation after 120 payments.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback backlog
- ▪Court filings in a separate lawsuit show the U.S. Department of Education decided approximately 1,472 Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback requests per month between April 2025 and March 2026 while pending applications grew from 49,318 to 89,720.
- ▪The U.S. Department of Education faces a backlog of approximately 90,000 pending Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback applications from borrowers seeking to pay for past deferment or forbearance periods.
Lawsuit over Closed-School discharge delays
- ▪U.S. Department of Education spokesperson Ellen Keast characterized the Biden administration's January 2025 closed-school discharge expansion as an inappropriate last-minute effort to secure a press release statistic.
- ▪The October 28, 2026 closed-school discharge lawsuit alleges the U.S. Department of Education failed to implement a January 2025 decision expanding debt relief eligibility for former students of Career Education Corporation, EDMC, ECA, and Bay State College.
- ▪Lead plaintiff Kendrick Gaussoin had his closed-school discharge application denied by the U.S. Department of Education despite qualifying under the agency's expanded eligibility look-back period for Brooks Institute.
- ▪Student loan borrowers represented by Student Defense filed a class-action lawsuit against Education Secretary Linda McMahon over Closed School Discharge program delays
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