I’ve written previously about Colorado’s two educator loan forgiveness programs (these are in addition to the federal loan forgiveness). One of those programs, the Temporary Educator Loan Forgiveness Program is about to open up for another round of applications on September 1st, 2023.
Note: Even if you’ve received this forgiveness before, you can apply again.)
Many Colorado educators have not heard of this program and, those who have, often think they aren’t eligible because they mistakenly think it is only applicable to rural educators. While it’s true that rural educators get priority, all Colorado educators with federal student loans (subsidized and/or unsubsidized) potentially can qualify. Here’s the priority order they’ll award the $5,000 in loan forgiveness:
- Work in a qualified position in a rural school district.
(Note: There are 147 school districts in Colorado that qualify as “rural”, many people are in a rural district and don’t realize it.) - Work in a qualified position in a content-shortage area.
(Note: Many people think this doesn’t apply to them, but current content-shortage areas include broad categories such as elementary teacher, counselor, math/science/social studies/science teachers, special ed teachers, etc. – lots and lots and lots of folks.) - Any other qualified position.
There is also a preference given to those who have been employed the shortest length of time (because they are trying to encourage people to enter the profession to fill those shortages). They will go through the priority list and award all that they can and the application is very quick and very easy, so every Colorado teacher who has federal student loans should complete this application. It’ll take just a few minutes and might get you $5,000.
Note: The way this is currently structured, the $5,000 is distributed as 12 monthly student loan payments given directly to the federal government. This is not ideal, as you don’t get the full benefit of the $5,000 unless your monthly payment exceeds $416.66. Unfortunately, the “extra” amount above your scheduled payment does not carry over to future payments. Still, it’s 12 months of student loan payments that you don’t have to make and, if you have a low overall balance, may pay off your loan faster and therefore end your payments sooner.
I’ve asked them to see if they can make adjustments to how this is distributed so it’s more valuable and they are at least taking a look. I’ll update this post if something changes.
The application will go live on September 1st, so put a note on your calendar and make sure to complete it as soon as you can. (Labor Day weekend is an excellent time to complete the very short online application.)
They are also currently planning on opening up the next round of the Colorado Educator Loan Forgiveness Program in December or January. You should apply for that one as well when it opens up as you can receive both (and can receive both each year they are offered).
And, if you haven’t already, make sure you have done the steps at the federal level outlined in this post.
Fisch Financial 