Perkins Employment Cancellations - Teaching

Elementary or Secondary Schools Serving Low-Income Students

You must be a full-time teacher directly employed by the school system, in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school that the U.S. Department of Education has designated as a low-income school which has a high concentration of students from low-income families for a complete academic year or its equivalent.

As of Aug. 14, 2008, full-time teachers working in designated low-income elementary or secondary schools who are employed by an educational service agency or at a location operated by an educational service agency may be eligible for loan cancellation. School eligibility is determined by the Department of Education.

A supervisor, administrator, researcher, or curriculum specialist is not a teacher unless he or she primarily provides direct and personal educational services to students.

All Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) elementary and secondary schools qualify.

Special Education

You must be employed as a Full-time special education teacher of infants and toddlers from birth to age 2, children or youth from ages 3 through 21 with disabilities who require special education and related services because they have disabilities as defined in section 602(a)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Handicapped Education

You must be employed as a Full-time handicapped education teacher of children ages 3 through 21 who require special education and related services because they are: mentally retarded, hard of hearing, deaf, speech and language impaired, visually handicapped, seriously emotionally disturbed, orthopedically impaired, autistic, specific learning disabled, have traumatic brain injury, or otherwise health impaired.

Teaching in Fields of Expertise

You must be employed Full-time teaching in mathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education or any other field of expertise where the state education agency determines that there is a shortage of qualified teachers and the majority of classes taught are in the borrower's field of expertise.

Head Start Pre-School Program

You must be employed as a Full-time staff member (person regularly employed in a full-time professional capacity to carry out the educational part) of the Head Start pre-school program under section 222(a)(1) of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964-5; (2) who serves for a complete academic year or its equivalent; and whose salary does not exceed the salary of a comparable employee working in the local school district.

As of Aug. 14, 2008, this benefit was expanded to include full-time staff members in a pre-kindergarten or childcare program that is licensed or regulated by the state and is operated for a complete academic year.

Tribal College or University

Effective Aug. 14, 2008, a full-time faculty member of a tribal college or university may cancel a Perkins loan up to 100 percent over a five-year period.

Librarian at an Elementary or Secondary School or Public Library

You must be employed as a full-time librarian with a master’s degree in Library Science employed by an elementary school or secondary school that qualifies for Title 1 funding, or in a public library that serves a geographic area that includes one or more Title 1 schools. Employment must be during the period that includes August 14, 2008 or thereafter.

Speech-Language Pathologist at Elementary or Secondary Schools

You must be employed as a full-time Speech Language pathologist with a master's degree and work exclusively with an elementary school or secondary school that qualifies for Title 1 funding.