A pair of Democratic bills introduced in May would eliminate one of the oldest restrictions in federal student loan policy: the rule that blocks teachers from counting the same years of teaching service toward both Teacher Loan Forgiveness (TLF) and Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
The Teacher Debt Relief Act (H.R.8815), introduced May 14, 2026 by Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and endorsed by the National Education Association, would end the prohibition that forces teachers to choose one program or the other for a given service period. Hayes calls it a technical correction, but for teachers, it could shave years off the path to full forgiveness.
Here's what to know about the drive to end the double-dipping provision of PSLF and TLF.
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Why It Matters
Under current law, a teacher who completes five consecutive years at a low-income school can receive up to $17,500 in Teacher Loan Forgiveness, but those same five years cannot count toward PSLF's 120 qualifying payments.
That forces a choice most teachers don't realize they're making until it's too late: take the smaller TLF benefit now and restart the PSLF clock, or skip TLF entirely and go for just PSLF.
If these bills became law, the same five years of teaching could deliver TLF's upfront forgiveness and count as half of the 10-year PSLF timeline.
Loan Forgiveness For Educators Act
The Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act (S.4567/H.R.8896), reintroduced May 19, 2026 by Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM), and Hayes, would overhaul TLF itself. The bill would:
- Have the Department of Education make monthly student loan payments on behalf of educators during qualifying service
- Forgive all remaining debt after five years of service, which would no longer need to be consecutive
- Expand eligibility to early childhood educators, program directors, and school leaders in high-need schools
- Make additional loan types eligible, including Parent PLUS Loans
- Allow that service to concurrently count toward PSLF
This Isn't The First Time
During the limited PSLF waiver, which ran from October 2021 through October 2022, the Department of Education temporarily allowed periods that had already been used for Teacher Loan Forgiveness to also count toward PSLF.
Teachers who acted during that 13-month window effectively got the double-dip these bills would now make permanent.
The bill's sponsors note the TLF program hasn't been significantly updated since 2004, and roughly two-thirds of people entering education careers take on student debt.
Hayes' office adds that teachers earn $3,644 less on average than a decade ago after inflation, and 40% of school districts still offer starting salaries below $40,000.
Reality Check
These are Democratic bills with no announced Republican support. Neither bill is likely to advance this session.
They're best read as a marker for where Democrats want teacher loan policy to go and a signal that the double-dip question, briefly ended during the Biden era, is back on the table.
How This Connects
Our guide to student loan forgiveness options for teachers has long carried a standard warning: you can't count the same service for both TLF and PSLF, so most teachers with larger balances should skip TLF and go straight for PSLF's full forgiveness.
These bills would flip that math: teachers could take TLF's $17,500 along the way without losing PSLF progress.
Both bills sit in committee and are likely to stay there. Teachers making loan forgiveness decisions today should plan around current rules, not proposed ones.
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Editor: Colin Graves
Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading voices on student loan debt and saving for college. He holds an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and has spent over 15 years researching, writing, and advising on student loans, 529 plans, financial aid programs, and saving and investing for young professionals.
Robert has been featured in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Forbes, where he has been a regular personal finance contributor for over a decade. His work combines both professional expertise and personal experience – he successfully navigated his own student loan repayment journey and has helped thousands of readers do the same.
He is committed to making the intersection of personal finance and education transparent and accessible. You can learn more about Robert on the About Page or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.