Student Loan Repayment Program

IMPORTANT: Please do NOT send any participant loan documentation to the Michigan Department of Education via e-mail. Sending participant loan documentation introduces a potential security risk, especially if there is personally identifiable information (PII) included.

Applicants must provide documentation demonstrating the following eligibility criteria for each participating district staff member:

• The individual must owe federal student loans.
• The individual must be enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, pursuant to federal law, and is in a payment plan that makes eligible payments toward federal public service loan forgiveness.
• The individual must be enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan. The individual may be exempt from this requirement if their loan is not eligible for income-driven repayment.
• The individual must currently work 32 hours or more per week for their employer.
• The individual must work in a role where direct contact with pre-K to 12 students, comprises 50% or more of their working time.

For more information about PSLF, qualifying loans, and repayment plans, visit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness webpage.

The following requirements from FY24 apply:

• The maximum payment available to any eligible individual is $200.00 per month, or if the individual is employed in a district or intermediate district that is assigned to band 6* in the opportunity index, up to $400.00 per month, for the duration of the program or the total amount of the eligible district staff member’s monthly federal student loan payment or whichever is less. *Band 6 in the opportunity index means at least 85% of pupils in the district are economically disadvantaged. See below for more information.
• Payments to eligible individuals must be made in equal amounts monthly.
• Payments to an eligible individual must be made for no more than 10 years or until the eligible participant's federal student loan is paid off, whichever occurs earlier.
• Eligible individuals must only receive funding through the program if the eligible participant continues to meet the criteria of an eligible district staff member.
• The online portal is anticipated to assist eligible individuals in their responsibilities to:
  • report annually, and certify to their employers that they made payments toward their eligible federal student loan with the funding received through this program;
  • if the individual leaves the program, the individual must certify to the district or intermediate district, on the date they leave the program that they made payments toward their eligible federal student loan with the funding received through this program; and
  • certify to their employer any increases or decreases in their monthly payment toward the eligible federal student loan

Information on Band 6 of the Opportunity Index

• Information related to districts’ Opportunity Index Score is publicly available on the Department’s State Aid Payment Information page.
• Download the spreadsheet with the “2024-25 At Risk Estimates” link.
• Opportunity Index (OI) Scores are determined based on districts’ prior year fall ED count.
• The spreadsheet includes the calculation process used to establish each district’s OI Score in Column H.
• Districts with OI Scores of 85 or higher are in Band 6.