What Long Island college grads need to know about proposed Public Service Loan Forgiveness changes

The Trump administration is considering proposed changes to the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that, if approved, could impact people who work for organizations that serve immigrants and transgender youth, among others.

Under the program, full-time employees of qualified organizations — including state and local government, nonprofits and the U.S. military — can have their federal loans forgiven after making the equivalent of 120 qualifying monthly payments under an accepted repayment plan.

But President Donald Trump has called on the secretary of Education to propose revisions to the program, enacted in 2007, that exclude organizations that "engage in activities that have a substantial illegal purpose," according to an executive order issued in March.

A committee of government officials and stakeholders met last week to discuss the proposed changes in a negotiated rulemaking session. They did not come to a consensus, meaning the Education Department is not bound to any suggestion made during the three-day session, according to Megan Walter, a senior policy analyst with the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.

“While the committee was not able to reach consensus, I'm proud that the committee members representing institutions of higher education, veterans, taxpayers, borrowers and the business community have helped fulfill one of President Trump’s promises to ensure that PSLF does not subsidize organizations that are breaking the law," acting Under Secretary of Education James Bergeron said in a release.

What changes are being proposed?

The Department of Education has proposed revisions to the program that would exclude organizations deemed to be "aiding or abetting" violation of federal immigration laws; providing gender-affirming care to children under the age of 19; supporting terrorism and those that violate federal civil rights laws, according to a draft of the proposal. The Trump administration has argued that "diversity, equity and inclusion" can violate federal civil rights laws. 

In his executive order, Trump said under the Biden administration the loan forgiveness program had "misdirected tax dollars into activist organizations that not only fail to serve the public interest, but actually harm our national security and American values, sometimes through criminal means."

Walter, who attended the negotiated rulemaking sessions, said it’s difficult to yet say what organizations would be affected.

What are Long Islanders saying about the proposed changes? 

David Kilmnick, president of the LGBT Network, called the proposed revisions "clear-cut discrimination."

The Hauppauge-based organization, which provides mental health, advocacy, workplace education and community services for LGBT youth and adults on Long Island, employs workers who are eligible for loan forgiveness through the existing PSLF program.

Kilmnick does not believe the changes, if approved, will hold up to court challenges.

"It’s not going to stop us from fulfilling our mission as an organization," he said of the proposals. "Employees at the LGBT Network work so hard to make sure that these kids stay alive and that their parents don’t have to worry about their kids killing themselves."

What’s next?

The federal Education Department will have to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking, which gives the public a first view of what language will be in the proposed rules, according to Walter. Afterward, the public will have 60 days to comment on the language and then the department will have to address the comments.

The department must publish their final rules by Nov. 1 in order for the rules to take effect by July 2026.