Nearly half of all educators took out student loans to pay for college, and they still owe $58,700, on average
Key Takeaways
- Educators under the age of 35 are more likely to have taken out loans than educators over the age of 61-65 percent compared to 27 percent, NEA researchers found. However, many retired educators are still paying off their college debt.
- Black educators have significantly more student debt than White educators ($68,000 compared to $54,300, on average). One reason is Black families have less generational wealth. If their children want to become teachers, they’re going to have to borrow more.
- The failure of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program-98 percent of applicants have been rejected-is making matters worse. With PSLF’s promise to educators unfulfilled, the best and only hope for many educators is broad cancellation by the Biden administration.
The widespread burden of educators’ college debt greatly impacts the way many educators live, NEA research found. Many are struggling to pay basic bills, including rent and food.
Making matters worse, the promise of federal Public https://getbadcreditloan.com/payday-loans-ia/sioux/ Service Loan Forgiveness, which is supposed to forgive educators’ federal student loan balance after 10 years of payments, has gone unfulfilled. Ninety-eight percent of applicants have been rejected for reasons that often don’t make any sense to them.
No technicalities, no loopholes, just cancel the debt, NEA President Becky Pringle told Education Secretary Miguel Cardona earlier this year. That what educators and other public-service workers were promised, and that’s what they deserve… It is simply the right thing to do.
Educators are Drowning in Debt
- Overall, educators borrowed an average of $55,800-and still owe an average $58,700 because of low salaries and hefty interest rates-but those amounts vary a lot, depending on age and race.
- It’s worse for young educators. Because of rising tuition costs, two of out three educators under the age of 35 borrowed for college, compared to 27 percent of those 61 and up.