Student debt forgiveness for public servants

US SECRETARY OF EDUCATION| Miguel Cardona invites public servants to request the cancellation of their student debt. (Photo/El Comercio de Colorado)

MIGUEL CARDONA, US SECRETARY OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCED

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Since October 2021, the Biden administration has been implementing changes to the Public Service Student Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). “We have focused on improving this program because it was not giving results. It was a failed program. Between 2008 and 2021, 98 percent of public officials who requested forgiveness of their student debt were denied this benefit,” said Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Education of the United States.

The PSLF was created to provide fundamental support to public servants. Staff of the federal administration, states, counties, and cities can request resources to cancel their direct student loans and other modalities. Workers of non-profit organizations that provide a public service also have access to PSLF. The program benefits teachers, nurses, doctors, and many other professionals who serve the community and have made payments on that debt for 10 years.

Canceling all debts

Secretary Cardona continues, “Applying some changes has allowed us to use more than 27 billion dollars to forgive student loans for people who work serving the community. I’m very happy about that.” These senior official feels satisfied in view of the impact that a program of this nature has. “We are fixing the program so that more people can study, including Latinos. We know that education for Latinos is very important because it opens doors,” he said.

Cardona invites Hispanic officials to apply for this benefit. “Studying gave me the opportunity to be a teacher and move on. Being well educated has led me, with the grace of God, to serve as Secretary of Education and advise the President of the United States on matters related to education. I have assumed the challenge and responsibility of facilitating access and study opportunities. By expanding access to PSLF, many officials will overcome obstacles to its development,” he asserted.

Step by step request

Instructions to apply for PSLF

https://studentaid.gov/pslf/

School children Mental health

Thinking about the recent school year, what is your assessment of the support for mental health that schoolchildren in the United States have received?

Miguel Cardona: Mental health has been one of the most important issues that we have focused on. The communication we have had with the students and their parents has been crucial. When we got to the government, 46 percent of the schools were closed. By November 2021, more than 99 percent of schools are open and fully operational.

In the school year just ended, the number of counselors, psychologists and others to help students with their mental health increased by 65 percent. In Michigan, for example, each school day students set aside time to work on their students’ mental and emotional health. That’s not enough. I want to see more. I want to see the management of the governors and state legislators in this aspect, just as the president focused on giving money for mental health in the educational sector.