There
are several opportunities for teachers to receive loan forgiveness or
cancellation. Kentucky Department of Education’s role in teacher loan repayment
is to answer questions and provide information regarding the programs.
Teacher Loan Forgiveness
Teacher Loan Forgiveness was designed as an
incentive to enter and continue in the teaching profession and provides loan
reimbursement once a teacher has completed five consecutive, full-time years of
service at a qualifying low-income elementary school, secondary school, or educational
service agency.
Schools serving
over 30% low-income families qualify as low-income. For a list of
low-income schools, please visit the Teacher Cancellation Low-Income School (TCLI) Directory. The directory is updated every January of the current school year. If you do not see your school listed, check back at the end of January before submitting an inquiry. If
the school is not included in the directory for the specified year, the school
administrator can complete the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Survey for
KDE approval.
Steps to Apply for Teacher Loan Forgiveness
- Complete the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Application after completing the minimum of five years at a qualifying low income school.
- Send application directly to the lender (do not submit an application to KDE, either via email or standard mail).
TEACH Grant
The TEACH Grant provides up to $4,000 per year to students if they agree to teach in a "high need field" for four complete academic years at qualifying low-income schools. A "high need field" includes academic disciplines/subject areas identified as teacher shortage areas (TSA) at the time the grant recipient begins teaching in that field. The U.S. Department of Education (USED) releases a Teacher Shortage Areas Nationwide Listing annually. TSA data can also be searched on the Teacher Shortage Area Data website. A list of current critical teacher shortage areas is available on the Kentucky Educator Placement Service FAQ webpage. Unlike loan forgiveness, the TEACH Grant is handled by participating colleges and universities. Questions about the TEACH Grant should be directed to the college or university's financial aid office.
Public Service Loan Forgiveness
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program allows you to receive forgiveness of the remaining balance of your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a qualifying employer.
Note: Borrowers can’t
receive credit toward Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan
Forgiveness (PSLF) for the same period. That means, if you seek and receive
Teacher Loan Forgiveness, the five-year period of service that supported your
eligibility will NOT count toward PSLF. It is recommended that you consider
whether you’re interested in PSLF before deciding to pursue Teacher Loan
Forgiveness, because changes cannot be made once you receive forgiveness.