Kansas Student Loan Forgiveness Programs

Kansas offers student loan repayment assistance programs for health care providers, rural lawyers, teachers, nurses, and vets who commit to working where the state needs them. The State Loan Repayment Program is the one most working professionals can use today, and a new 2026 law adds up to $100,000 for attorneys who practice outside the five largest counties. Rural Opportunity Zones stopped taking new applicants June 30, 2026, so everyone else should start with federal forgiveness programs.

Kansas State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) pays up to $25,000 a year in each of the first two years to physicians, pharmacists, and dentists, and up to $20,000 a year to nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses, dental hygienists, and licensed mental health providers who work at eligible sites in federally designated shortage areas (KDHE). Continuation years pay less each year, down to $10,000 or $5,000 in year five. Doctors comparing this against federal awards should read our breakdown of student loan forgiveness for doctors.

Attorney Loan Repayment For Rural Kansas

Substitute for HB 2595, signed April 6, 2026, created a Department of Commerce program that repays up to $20,000 a year, for up to five years and $100,000 total, for attorneys who live and practice law in any county other than Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, or Wyandotte (2026 Session Laws, Chapter 68). Any student loan counts, including undergraduate loans. Attorneys at legal aid offices and public defender offices can also pursue PSLF, which our breakdown covers.

The same law pays law students up to $3,000 a school year for up to three years if they agree to practice full time in rural Kansas within 90 days of bar admission, one year for each year of stipend (Kansas Reflector). Law grads still weighing loan options should compare this with our graduate school forgiveness breakdown.

Kansas Medical Student Loan (KMSL)

KMSL covers tuition and a monthly stipend for University of Kansas medical students who commit to pediatrics, emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, or psychiatry, and it requires one year of Kansas practice after residency for each year of loan (KU Medical Center). HB 2374, approved April 6, 2026, lets the KU chancellor add specialties based on workforce shortages and defines the specialty service area as any county other than Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, or Wyandotte (2026 Session Laws, Chapter 43). Compare the penalty terms with a standard medical school student loan before signing.

Kansas Osteopathic Medical Service Scholarship

The Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) estimates this scholarship at $41,000 per school year for up to four years for Kansas residents at accredited osteopathic medical schools (KBOR 2026–2027 application). Each year of support requires one year of primary care practice in any Kansas county other than Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, or Wyandotte. Primary care doctors can stack this with the federal programs in our doctor forgiveness roundup.

Kansas Bridging Plan

The Kansas Bridging Plan gives resident physicians a combined incentive of at least $26,000, with $10,000 from state funds during residency and the rest matched by a Kansas health care employer, in exchange for 36 months of practice in an eligible community (KU Medical Center). The state funds up to 14 primary care slots, three psychiatry slots, and three OB-GYN slots each year. Residents can combine it with the federal options in our student loan forgiveness for doctors breakdown.

Kansas Nursing Service Scholarship

KBOR pays $4,000 a year to full-time LPN students and $5,000 a year to full-time RN students, rising to $5,000 and $6,250 when a sponsoring employer participates (KBOR 2026–2027 flyer). Recipients work full time as a nurse in Kansas for one year per year of scholarship. Working nurses with existing loans have more options in our nursing student loan forgiveness roundup.

Kansas Nurse Educator Service Scholarship

This KBOR scholarship funds graduate nursing students who agree to teach in a nurse education program one year for each year of assistance (KBOR 2026–2027 aid brochure). KBOR doesn't publish an award amount in its brochure. Nursing faculty at public colleges also work for PSLF employers, which our graduate school forgiveness breakdown covers.

Kansas Teacher Service Scholarship

KBOR pays up to $6,860 per academic year ($3,430 per semester) to Kansas residents preparing to teach elementary education, English language arts, math, science, or special education, or to teach in USD 501 Topeka, USD 500 Kansas City, USD 259 Wichita, or State Board of Education Districts 5, 7, and 9 (KBOR 2026–2027 flyer). Recipients teach in the shortage field or area within six months of licensure, one year per year of funding. Pair it with our list of student loan forgiveness options for teachers.

Kansas Optometry Service Scholarship

KBOR reserves seats for Kansas residents at the University of Missouri–St. Louis (12), Southern College of Optometry in Memphis (12), and Northeastern State University in Oklahoma (8), and it pays the gap between resident and nonresident tuition (KBOR 2026–2027 application). Recipients practice full time anywhere in Kansas for one year per year of scholarship. Optometrists with existing debt should also look at our list of student loan forgiveness programs.

Veterinary Training Program For Rural Kansas

K-State's program provides up to $25,000 a year toward tuition for up to four years, and forgives up to $25,000 of those loans per year of full-time practice in one of 95 Kansas counties with fewer than 40,000 residents (K-State College of Veterinary Medicine). The service commitment is four years, and 108 students have been admitted so far. Vets who miss the program can compare federal and private options in our private student loan forgiveness roundup.

Kansas is one of the states that automatically conform with federal tax rules, so it follows federal treatment of canceled student debt (The College Investor). PSLF, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, and death and disability discharges stay tax-free at both levels.

Forgiveness under income-driven plans became federally taxable again on January 1, 2026, when the American Rescue Plan exclusion expired, and conforming states like Kansas may tax it as well (Taxes And Student Loan Forgiveness). Borrowers expecting IBR or RAP forgiveness can estimate the bill with our student loan tax bomb calculator.

NHSC loan repayment awards are tax-free (HRSA). Ask the administering agency whether your Kansas state award will be reported as income, and read our explainer on the 1099-C and student loan forgiveness before filing.

Does Kansas Have A Student Loan Forgiveness Program?

Kansas offers student loan repayment assistance programs rather than broad loan forgiveness. It runs 10 service-based programs for health care providers, attorneys, teachers, nurses, optometrists, and veterinarians. Borrowers outside those fields rely on federal programs like PSLF and income-driven plan forgiveness.

What Happened To The Rural Opportunity Zones Loan Repayment Program?

The ROZ student loan repayment program closed to new applicants on June 30, 2026, and existing participants can finish their established participation period (Kansas Department of Commerce). A 2025 bill to extend it to 2031, SB 69, died in the Senate (Kansas Legislature). Rural workers now need to look at employer repayment benefits or the programs above.

Can Kansas Lawyers Get Help Repaying Student Loans?

Starting with the 2026 law, attorneys who live and practice in a rural Kansas county can receive up to $20,000 a year and $100,000 total, subject to state funding (2026 Session Laws, Chapter 68). Prosecutors, public defenders, and legal aid attorneys can also work toward PSLF.

Can Kansas Doctors And Nurses Get Help Repaying Student Loans?

Physicians and dentists in shortage areas can receive up to $25,000 a year in their first two years through the State Loan Repayment Program, and nurses and other providers can receive up to $20,000 a year (KDHE). Nursing students can add the Kansas Nursing Service Scholarship, and our nursing forgiveness roundup covers federal Nurse Corps funding.

Is Student Loan Forgiveness Taxable In Kansas?

Kansas conforms to federal tax rules, so PSLF and Teacher Loan Forgiveness are tax-free while income-driven plan forgiveness granted after 2025 may be taxable (The College Investor). Use our tax bomb calculator to estimate what you'd owe.