AFT Sues ED For Shutting Down Access to IDR Plans, Hindering Progress Toward PSLF
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
Student loan borrowers filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Education (ED) for blocking borrower's progress toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) by removing the online application for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans.
The lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), a national labor union, who is being represented by the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and Berger Montague PC. In the court filing, the parties allege that for nearly a month, ED has blocked access to all IDR plans by taking the online application down. The filing also cited news reports that the department ordered student loan servicers to halt all IDR application processing.
ED pulled the online IDR application in February in response to a decision from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld an injunction blocking the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan in its entirety. This court decision subsequently blocked the administration from processing forgiveness for borrowers enrolled in PAYE and ICR plans.
AFT argued that IDR plans, while not operated perfectly, serve as a “lifeline in preventing student loan borrowers from default.” The Trump administration’s move to take down online IDR applications and halting application processing “greatly exceeds” the ruling from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, and ultimately “wreaked havoc” on borrowers who need affordable monthly payments.
The lawsuit goes on to argue that the Trump administration's decision impacts borrowers' ability to receive PSLF since they must be enrolled in an IDR plan and make 120 qualifying monthly payments in order to receive the loan forgiveness.
According to AFT, more than 1 million borrowers remained in a backlog waiting for their IDR application to be processed prior to the Trump administration’s decision to remove the online IDR application.
“By effectively freezing the nation’s student loan system, the new administration seems intent on making life harder for working people, including for millions of borrowers who have taken on student debt so they can go to college,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement. “The former president tried to fix the system for 45 million Americans, but the new president is breaking it again.”
Stay tuned to Today’s News as this lawsuit moves through the court system.
Publication Date: 3/20/2025
Michael T | 3/20/2025 1:24:07 PM
Im currently in this dynamic after switching from SAVE to IDR. They never processed my IDR and kept me on SAVE. Now, sitting in forbearance after passing my PSLF date.
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