Under a new federal proposal released Friday, some employees, including teachers, social workers, nurses and other public workers, would be ineligible for a popular student loan cancellation program if the Trump administration finds their employer took part in activities with a “substantial illegal purpose,” the Associated Press reports.
The Education Department’s plans to overhaul the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program targeted nonprofits or government bodies working with immigrants and transgender youth. The new policy’s opponents say it would turn the program benefit into a tool of political retribution.
Under the proposal, the education secretary would have the final say over a group or government entity’s exclusion from the program, which was established by Congress in 2007 to encourage more college graduates to enter lower-paying public service fields.
According to the proposal, illegal activity includes the trafficking or “chemical castration” of children — using hormone therapy or drugs that delay puberty — illegal immigration and supporting foreign terrorist organizations.
President Donald Trump said the loan forgiveness program was steering taxpayer money to “activist organizations” that do not serve the public and pose a threat to national security.
