The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently launched a toolkit to empower school districts and other public service organizations to help their employees pay off student loan debt. Up to a quarter of the U.S. workforce is in public service and may be eligible for existing student loan debt forgiveness programs. Qualifying employment is any employment with a federal, state, or local government agency, entity, or organization or a not-for-profit organization that has been designated as tax-exempt by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The type or nature of employment with the organization does not matter for PSLF purposes. Additionally, the type of services that these public service organizations provide does not matter for PSLF purposes.

A private not-for-profit employer that is not a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRC may be a qualifying public service organization if it provides certain specified public services. These services include emergency management, military service, public safety, or law enforcement services; public health services; public education or public library services; school library and other school-based services; public interest law services; early childhood education; public service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly. The organization must not be a labor union or a partisan political organization.

Find more information at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and at the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid websites.