Cancellation of a Federal Perkins Loan

The cancellation process starts by filing to defer installments when the borrower begins a qualifying job. Each cancellation provision involves full-time employment for a full year to earn a portion of the loan cancelled.

Child/Family Service Agency

A full-time employee of an eligible public or private nonprofit child or family service agency who is providing or supervising the provision of services only to high-risk children from low-income communities. The borrower may also be providing services to adults, but these adults must be members of the families of the children for whom services are provided. The services provided to adults must be secondary to the services provided to the high-risk children. The department has determined that an elementary or secondary school system or a hospital is not an eligible employing agency. High-risk children are those under the age of 21 who are low-income and at risk of, or have been, abused or neglected, have serious emotional, mental or behavioral disturbances, reside in placements outside their homes, or are involved in the juvenile justice system.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Early Intervention Services

A full-time qualified professional provider of early intervention services in a public or other nonprofit program under public supervision by a lead agency as authorized by section 632(5) of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Early intervention services are provided to infants and toddlers, birth to age 2, with disabilities.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Faculty Member at a Tribally Controlled School

To qualify, you must be employed as a full-time faculty member at a Tribal College or University.

Eligibility for this benefit begins 08/2008.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Firefighter

To qualify, you must be employed full-time as a fire fighter for service to a Federal, State or Local fire department or fire district.

Eligibility for this benefit begins 08/2008.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Head Start Staff Member

A Perkins Loan or NDSL borrower who received the loan on or after July 1, 1987 is entitled to cancellation of up to 100% of the loan for qualifying service as a full-time staff member in the educational part of a preschool program carried out under the Head Start Act. The cancellation rate is 15% of the original principal loan amount for each completed year of service. A full-time member is someone who is regularly employed in a full-time professional capacity to carry out the educational part of a Head Start program. The program must operate for a full academic year, or its equivalent, and the borrower's salary may not be more than that of a comparable employee working a local educational agency. An authorized official of the Head Start Program must sign the borrower's cancellation form.

The cancellation rate is 15% of the original principal loan amount for each completed year of service up to 100%.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Law Enforcement or Corrections Officer

A full-time law enforcement officer for an eligible local, state, or federal agency whose activities pertain to crime prevention. Primary responsibility is crime prevention, control, reduction or enforcement of criminal law. Activities include police efforts, criminal court jurisdiction, corrections, probation, or parole authorities. Agencies and positions whose primary responsibilities are civil, regulatory, administrative, or support are not eligible.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Librarian

To qualify, you must be a full-time librarian who has a master’s degree in library science and is employed in an elementary or secondary school that is eligible for Title 1 assistance, or who is employed in a public library that serves a local school district that contains one or more Title 1 eligible schools. 

You must provide documentation of your master’s degree in library science.

Eligibility for this benefit begins 08/2008.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Military

For Active Duty Service that Ended Before August 13, 2008

A school must cancel up to 50% of the outstanding balance on a Perkins/NDSL Loan for active duty service that ended before August 14, 2008, as a member of the U.S. armed forces in an area of hos­tilities that qualifies for special pay un­der section 310 of title 37 of the U.S.C.

The cancellation rate is 12.5% for each qualifying year of service, up to a total of 50% of the original principal for active duty service that ended before August 13, 2008.

For Active Duty Service After August 14, 2008 

A school must cancel up to 100% of the outstanding balance of a Perkins loan for a full year of active duty service in the U.S. armed forces in an area of hostilities or an area of imminent danger that qualifies for special pay. The “U.S. armed forces” are the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard.

The borrower’s commanding officer must certify the borrower’s ser­vice dates. Active duty service for less than a complete year or a fraction of a year beyond a complete year does not qualify. A complete year of ser­vice is 12 consecutive months.

Areas that qualify for hostile fire/imminent danger pay are listed on the Web. Note that the borrower does not have to serve the full 12 months of active duty service in such an area to qualify for the cancellation. If a borrower is on active duty in such an area for any part of a month, that month counts towards the borrower’s eligibility for a military cancellation.

The cancellation rate is 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year for each year of qualifying service after August 14, 2008.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Nurse or Medical Technician

Nurse

A full-time licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse, or other individual who is licensed by the appropriate state agency to provide nursing services.

Medical Technician

An allied health professional working full-time providing health care services such as therapy, dental hygiene, nutrition, medical technology. The borrower must be certified, registered, or licensed by the state agency within the state where you provide this service. An allied health professional is someone who assists, facilitates, or complements the work of physicians and other specialists in the health care system.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Peace Corps/AmeriCorps-VISTA

Peace Corps

To qualify, the borrower must serve full-time for a complete year with Peace Corps.

AmeriCorps-VISTA

To qualify, you must serve full-time for one complete year with AmeriCorps-VISTA.

An AmeriCorps-VISTA volunteer may only qualify for this cancellation if the AmeriCorps-VISTA volunteer elects not to receive a national service education award for his/her volunteer service. The AmeriCorps-VISTA volunteer must provide documentation showing that the volunteer has declined the AmeriCorps national service education award.

The cancellation rate is 15% for years one and two, 20% for years three and four, up to a total of 70% of the original principal.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Pre-K/Child Care Program Staff

To qualify, you must be employed full-time as a staff-member in a pre-K or child care program licensed or regulated by the state. The program must be operated for a period comparable to a full school year and must pay a salary comparable to an employee of a local educational agency.

Eligibility for this benefit begins 08/2008

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for each completed year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Public Defense Lawyer

To qualify, you must be employed full-time as an attorney in a defender organization established in accordance with section 3006(g)(2) of title 18, U.S.C.

Eligibility for this benefit begins 08/2008. You must provide a job description. 

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Speech Pathologist (at Title 1 School)

To qualify, you must be employed full-time as a speech pathologist who has a master’s degree and who is working exclusively with Title 1 eligible schools.

Eligibility for this benefit begins 08/2008. You must provide documentation evidencing your master’s degree.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.

Teaching

To qualify, you must be employed full-time in a public or nonprofit elementary or secondary school system as:

• A teacher in a low-income school or a low-income educational service agency.

• A teacher in a teacher shortage field, including mathematics, science, foreign languages, or bilingual education or any other field of expertise that is determined by a state education agency to have a shortage of qualified teachers in that state.

• A special-education teacher, including teachers of infants, tod­dlers, children, or youth with disabilities.

The cancellation form that the borrower files must be signed by an official in the school system or agency to certify the borrower’s service. Eligibility for teacher cancellation is based on the duties presented in an official position description, not on the position title. To receive a cancel­lation, the borrower must be directly employed by the school system.

To qualify for cancellation based on any of these three conditions, a borrower must teach full-time for a complete academic year or its equivalent.

Cancellation Rate: 15% of the original principal loan amount for the first and second years; 20% of the original principal loan amount for the third and fourth years; 30% of the original principal loan amount for the fifth year.

Please contact Student Loan Collections for details, questions or if you have a change in status.