Suit Seeks to Halt Radical PSLF Rewrite in United Front Against Department of Education’s Unconstitutional Attack on Teachers, Nurses, First Responders, and Advocates
November 3, 2025 | BOSTON — A broad coalition of over a dozen cities, labor unions, and nonprofit organizations filed a lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The suit charges the Trump-Vance Administration with illegally hijacking the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to silence governments and nonprofit 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.
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 Association of Social Workers, National Council of Nonprofits, Oasis Legal Services, AFT, 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 teachers, firefighters, social workers, 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.
Quotes from plaintiffs are available here.
“I went to law school with the goal of one day representing the most vulnerable populations within the immigrant community, who typically have little to no ability to pay for legal services. As the daughter of a single mother and immigrant family, PSLF is the reason why this goal was a realistic option for me. As an attorney at a non-profit, I provide legal services to indigent clients, and PSLF makes it financially feasible for me to continue doing this work for the long term. Without PSLF, I would have to choose between doing this vital work and providing financial support for my family,” said Vanesa Martinez-Chacon, Staff Attorney at the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
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, healthcare providers that offer gender affirming care, 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, or organized labor in public sector fields—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.