Washington, D.C., June 16, 2026—Teach Plus issued the following statement on the introduction of the Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act of 2026 in Congress. The bill would expand and modernize the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program (TLF) for educators:
“To build an education system where every child can thrive, we must first build a sustainable and supported teacher workforce. Right now, higher education costs and the burden of student loan debt are acting as systemic barriers—disproportionately locking out highly qualified candidates and driving talented educators away from the high-need classrooms where they are essential,” said Teach Plus CEO Kira Orange Jones. “I applaud Senator Luján, Representative Leger Fernández, and Representative Hayes for their leadership on this crucial legislation, which will alleviate the financial constraints and ensure that our most resilient schools are staffed by the well-prepared professionals our students deserve.”
“In New Mexico and nationwide, our educators work tirelessly to prepare our students and equip them with the tools for success,” said Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. “Right now, educators are being crushed by the high costs of education, creating barriers that are driving the workforce shortages we’ve seen across the country. To support our educators and students, it’s critical that we strengthen and expand the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program to make becoming an educator more accessible and affordable. My legislation will help increase educator recruitment and retention and empower a more prepared and diverse workforce to educate our students.”
“My mother was a teacher, and she marveled at the miracle that happens when a child learns to read. She knew teachers were overworked and underpaid, but she loved her calling to teach. I am reintroducing the Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act to invest in teachers and our children’s future,” said Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez of New Mexico. “This bill will ease the financial burden of hard-working educators by forgiving student loan debt after five years of teaching. Serving our students shouldn’t require educators to take on excessive debt compared to their pay. Let’s show educators the respect they have earned and incentivize them to stay in their profession and create lots of little miracles.”
The Loan Forgiveness for Educators Act updates the TLF by covering the monthly federal student loan payments for eligible K-12 teachers, school leaders, and early childhood education staff in under-resourced schools. Currently, high college costs, student loan debt burdens, and low educator salaries impact recruitment and retention of the educator workforce. However, research also suggests that well-designed loan forgiveness programs that underwrite all or most of the cost of comprehensive educator preparation are effective in recruiting and retaining highly qualified and talented educators.
This joint House and Senate legislation is cosponsored by:
- In the Senate: Baldwin (D-WI), Blumenthal (D-CT), Booker (D-NJ), Gallego (D-AZ), Heinrich (D-NM), Kaine (D-VA), Kelly (D-AZ), Merkley (D-OR), Padilla (D-CA), Reed (D-RI), Smith (D-MN), Van Hollen (D-MD), and Wyden (D-OR).
- In the House: Bonamici (D-OR), Carbajal (D-CA), Correa (D-CA), Craig (D-MN), DeSaulnier (D-CA), Garcia (D-CA), Hayes (D-CT), Norton (D-DC), Peters (D-MI), and Stansbury (D-NM).
A summary of the bill can be found here. Full text of the bill is available here.
About Teach Plus
The mission of Teach Plus is to empower excellent, experienced, and diverse teachers to take leadership over key policy and practice issues that affect their students’ success. In pursuing our mission, Teach Plus is guided by our Student Opportunity Mandate: to act boldly and create the conditions where every student can imagine their future—and experience an education that delivers the opportunity to realize it. Since 2009, Teach Plus has developed thousands of teacher leaders across the country to exercise their leadership in shaping education policy and improving teaching and learning for students. www.teachplus.org
