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Appeals Process

Student Loan Repayment Application Denial Appeals Process

How do I appeal an application denial decision for the FY25 Student Loan Repayment Program on behalf of one or more employees?

First, please understand that you are making an informal appeal to the decision on behalf of your employees using the link at the bottom of the page. Once you submit the informal appeal, the following steps will occur.

  1. Michigan Department of Education (MDE) will send the specific reason(s) for application denial(s) for each individual you name on the request form (below) in an email to a designated member of your administrative staff.
  2. From there, communicating with the individual educator(s) is at your discretion and timeline as the employer. We recommend that you gather reasons from each educator why that person feels there are certain circumstances to be considered.
  3. The original email will include instructions on how to complete the informal appeal. This may include sharing with MDE what the educator has explained to you.
  4. MDE will review the information you share with us and respond with a final decision that will become the final agency decision and will be put into effect.

MDE staff will respond to the district’s first-step request for the reasons for individual application denials and then to respond with a final decision, all within a timely basis (30 calendar days or less for each step). Please be aware of the following timelines:

  • For appeals filed for educators listed on Grant Award Notifications (GANs) sent to their district employers on Thursday, August 21, 2025, the window to initiate an informal appeal will close on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.
  • For appeals filed for educators listed on amended GANs anticipated to be sent on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, the window to initiate an informal appeal will close on Tuesday, November 18, 2025.

Please note: In the case of a shutdown of state government, submitted appeals that are in progress will be given an extension of calendar days equal to the length of the shutdown. Appeals that were submitted during a shutdown period will be processed within 30 days after the shutdown ends. 

IMPORTANT: The following are not considered grounds for appeal.

  • Not having seen or accessed the instructional documents available on the Student Loan Repayment Program webpage at the time of application.
  • Not participating in federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) and/or paying loans under an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan at the time of application.
  • Submitting an application with incorrect or missing screenshots or documents that would otherwise have been needed by MDE staff to determine approval.

No additional application documentation may be submitted with your response in Step 3 (above), and if included, will not be reviewed. This is because the applicant had the responsibility to provide all of the documentation necessary at the time of application, and MDE cannot accept any documentation that was not submitted at that time.

Use this link to log your informal appeal:

FY25 Student Loan Repayment Program Appeals Form