ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible, the borrower must meet the following criteria:

• Had no outstanding balance on any subsidized or unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans or Federal Consolidation loans disbursed on or before Oct. 1, 1998, or had no outstanding balance on such loans on the date you obtained a loan after Oct. 1, 1998.
• Taught full-time for five consecutive complete academic years.
• Taught in a Federally designated low-income building. To find out if a school has this designation, view the Annual Directory of Designated Low-Income Schools for Teacher Cancellation Benefits. If the directory is not available before May 1 of any year, the previous year's directory may be used.
• If a borrower's school met the above requirements for at least one year of the borrower's teaching service, but did not meet these requirements during subsequent years, the subsequent years of teaching at the school may be counted toward the required five consecutive complete academic years of teaching.

The Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application and the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Forbearance form may be used by:

• Teachers who started their qualified teaching service before Oct. 30, 2004.
  • These teachers may receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for service as a full-time elementary school teacher who demonstrates knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics or other areas of elementary school curriculum or for service as a full-time secondary school teacher teaching in a subject area that is relevant to their academic major.
  • These teachers may receive up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness if, as certified by the Chief Administrative Officer of the school where they were employed, they were a highly qualified full-time mathematics or science teacher in an eligible secondary school; or a highly qualified special education teacher whose primary responsibility was to provide special education to children with disabilities, and they were teaching children with disabilities that corresponded to their area of special education training and have demonstrated knowledge and teaching skills in the content areas of the curriculum that they were teaching.
• Teachers who started their qualified teaching service on or after Oct. 30, 2004.
  • These teachers may receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for service as a highly qualified, full-time elementary or secondary school teacher, as defined in the application.
  • These teachers may receive up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness for service as a highly qualified, as defined in the application, full-time mathematics or science teacher in an eligible secondary school or for service as a highly qualified special education teacher.
• Certain teachers who previously received teacher loan forgiveness under the previous provisions of the law. These teachers may receive loan forgiveness up to the difference between $17,500 and the amount that had previously been forgiven, only if they are otherwise eligible and have completed five consecutive years of qualified teaching service that met the definition of a highly qualified full-time mathematics or science teacher in an eligible secondary school, or a highly qualified special education teacher.
  

Completion of one-half of an academic year is considered one academic year if the borrower is unable to complete the term because of one of the following conditions:

• the borrower returned to postsecondary school on at least a half-time basis.
• due to a leave approved under the Family Medical Leave Act.
• or due to call to military active duty status for more than 30 days.

PROGRAM BENEFITS

A qualified borrower is eligible for forgiveness of up to $17,500, based on their eligibility as defined in the application, of the aggregate amount of his/her eligible loans.

Loan(s) eligible for loan forgiveness include:

• Federal Stafford (subsidized or unsubsidized) made under the FFELP or Direct Loan Program.
• the outstanding portion of a Federal Consolidation loan made under FFELP or the Direct Loan Program that was used to repay a FEELP or Direct Federal Stafford loan (subsidized or unsubsidized).
• or a defaulted loan on which the borrower has made satisfactory payment arrangements.

OTHER PROGRAM DETAILS

• Amounts previously paid by or on behalf of the borrower will not be refunded.
• A borrower may not receive loan forgiveness for qualifying teaching service if the borrower receives an Americorps benefit for the same teaching service.
• Applicants may qualify for forbearance during the employment period. (The form for the forbearance can be found below). A lender can grant forbearance for each year of qualifying teaching service if the expected cancellation amount will satisfy the anticipated remaining outstanding balance on the loan at the time of the expected cancellation.
• Applicants can also get forbearance for up to 60 days while they are completing the loan discharge application which includes the time it takes for the lender and guarantor to review it.
• The loan holder or guaranty agency must notify an applicant within 135 days of their decision on the application. If an application is approved, new repayment terms based on any remaining loan balances will be provided to the borrower.
• The aggregate loan amount approved for forgiveness may include both principal and interest, not to exceed $5,000 or $17,500, respectively.
• Additional program information can be found at the Federal Student Aid Web page.