Become an Allied Member
Who we are
The PSLF Coalition consists of over 90 + organizations committed to supporting Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). PSLF is the only educational debt program specifically targeted at public service professionals. For those with passion and qualifying education, but also educational debt, PSLF makes a career in public service possible. Click here to view our full list of allied members.
Our Key Objectives
- Advance policies to strengthen and improve Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Identify and lobby key Members of Congress
- Ensure robust implementation of Public Service Loan Forgiveness
- Expand outreach to eligible borrowers
- Leverage PSLF Coalition to maximize outreach to eligible borrowers
A brief history of our work
Our Coalition was established in 2017 in response to repeated attempts to eliminate or severely curtail the PSLF program. At the start, the coalition consisted largely of organizations that represented teachers, lawyers and social workers. Today, we represent more than 90 + public service professions and this number continues to grow. Our initial work focused on creating bipartisan support for the program in Congress. This work has continued, and we are grateful for the support of the PSLF Caucus in the House led by Representatives Boyle and Joyce. We pushed for fixes to the administration of PSLF, which at the time was only approving 2% of applications, and many borrowers had been given incorrect information about the program from their loan servicers. We rallied grassroots support to ensure that constituents echoed our calls for the promise of PSLF to be fulfilled.
The Biden Administration signaled a strong desire to not only preserve PSLF, but also make significant improvements to ensure that PSLF delivered upon the promise Congress made in 2007. In part, because of our robust engagement with this Administration and our advocacy, the Department of Education has made significant improvements to PSLF in the past year, including the temporary PSLF waiver and the Department’s final PSLF regulations.
We have made it a priority to educate borrowers about the recent changes to the PSLF program. Through this work we have engaged with thousands of borrowers to ensure that those who can avail of the recent improvements have the knowledge to act.
Benefits of becoming a member
- Access through members-only meetings with Department of Education officials on the latest developments on PSLF program implementation
- Opportunity to hear from members of Congress on proposed bills to improve PSLF
- Access to a community of advocates and student debt experts who are passionate about the success of PSLF and share practical knowledge for borrowers applying for PSLF forgiveness
- Resources from webinars, social media kits, to advocacy one pagers
- Visibility through congressional briefings, coalition-organized letters and media mentions
- Members are able to promote their advocacy efforts that are adjacent to PSLF through our community listserv
Frequently asked questions about membership
- Are there membership fees to be part of the Coalition?
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No. We know that this would be a barrier to smaller organizations to be a part of the important work.
- How often do allied members meet?
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The Coalition meets monthly to discuss threats, opportunities, and Hill strategy. We regularly send letters to the Hill on behalf of the Coalition and meet with champions to push the issue or respond to potential changes.
- How many allied members are there?
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Click here to view our full list of allied members. To date, we have over 90 + allied members. We know our Coalition is strengthened by increasing our size as well as the diversity of public service professions represented. Our collective aim is to support PSLF so that we can better serve the public education, health, and safety of communities across our nation.
Want to join?
Please contact Aoife Delargy Lowe, VP of Law School Engagement & Advocacy at Equal Justice Works: