WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) is part of a broad coalition of more than a dozen cities, labor unions, and nonprofit organizations that today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
The suit charges the Trump-Vance Administration with illegally repurposing the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to silence governments and non-profit organizations that do work the Administration doesn’t like. The Administration’s action breaks a decades-old bipartisan Congressional promise to support those who choose to dedicate their careers to public service.
“Social workers take on significant student debt to serve children and families, older adults, immigrants and refugees, and LGBTQ+ individuals, including transgender people,” said NASW CEO Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LCSW-C. “The proposed changes to Public Service Loan Forgiveness would punish those who dedicate their careers to strengthening communities and supporting our most vulnerable neighbors. NASW is joining this litigation because social workers should never be penalized for choosing to serve some of the most vulnerable people in our society.”
NASW is acting to prevent a policy change that would burden social workers with lifelong debt, reduce the public-service workforce, and limit access to critical social services nationwide. Besides NASW, the plaintiffs include City of Albuquerque, City of Boston, City of Chicago, City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara, Amica Center for Immigrant Rights, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, Legal Aid DC, National Council of Nonprofits, Oasis Legal Services, American Federation of Teachers, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and National Education Association. The coalition is represented by Protect Borrowers and Democracy Forward in this matter; the County of Santa Clara and City and County of San Francisco represent themselves.
Public service employers and organizations representing public service workers warn that any effort to weaponize PSLF will have a chilling effect on the entire public service workforce. For example, cities across the nation employ social workers, teachers, firefighters, and healthcare workers who risk losing access to debt relief should the Trump-Vance Administration seek to punish their city for policies they do not like.
The new PSLF rule would allow the Secretary of Education to disqualify government and nonprofit employers that disagree with the Trump-Vance Administration’s policies from the PSLF program. This would give the Administration a tool to attack sanctuary jurisdictions, immigrant rights groups,health care providers that offer gender affirming care, schools, colleges, and universities, and employers committed to equal opportunity employment.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, alleges that the new PSLF rule is a blatant violation of the Higher Education Act (HEA) passed by Congress, which categorically provides that government and 501(c)(3) nonprofit employers are PSLF-eligible employers, and is an unconstitutional assault on the First Amendment rights of millions of public service workers. By denying debt relief to those employed at organizations the Administration dislikes—such as those providing legal services to immigrant or LGBTQIA+ communities—the rule will deprive government and nonprofit employers of highly-qualified individuals to do work benefitting those in need across the country.
The coalition is asking the courts to strike down the rule and safeguard the PSLF program as Congress intended: a bipartisan promise to those who choose to serve their communities, regardless of politics.
This legal action presents a comprehensive legal challenge to ED’s PSLF rule and would cover the waterfront of Americans whose livelihoods and rights are vulnerable under the new rule.
“We are committed to defending the profession and ensuring that social workers can continue to pursue this vital work without facing insurmountable financial barriers,” Estreet said.
A copy of the lawsuit, National Council of Nonprofits et al. v. McMahon, is available here.
Quotes from plaintiffs and co-counsel are available here.
Additional Reading:
250+ organization letter to ED opposing ED’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to unlawfully change PSLF program: 250+ Organizations Representing Millions Demand That the Department of Education Halts Its Weaponization of PSLF
Statement on ED’s proposed language to implement Trump’s EO to exclude certain employers from the PSLF program: U.S. Department of Education’s Proposed PSLF Language Uplifts Thinly-Veiled Fascism Blog on PSLF Neg Reg sessions: Sham PSLF Neg Reg: Harmful, Horrific, and Illegal
Blog on PSLF Neg Reg sessions: Sham PSLF Neg Reg: Harmful, Horrific, and Illegal
186 organization letter to ED in response to ED’s notice about Negotiated Rulemaking to implement a Trump Executive Order: Hundreds of Democracy, Labor, and Civil Rights Organizations Warn Trump Education Officials: Do Not “Weaponize PSLF”
Advisory that includes borrower quote on ED’s first Negotiated Rulemaking (Neg Reg) hearing on PSLF rewrite: Borrowers and Advocates to Demand Protections for Millions at Neg Reg as ED Moves to Gut Affordable Student Loan Payments
Collection of borrower stories: Voices Behind the Student Debt Crisis