Teachers Union Sues Trump Administration Over Halt to Student Loan Repayment Plans

The American Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, accusing the administration of freezing access to income-driven repayment plans for millions of borrowers.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) filed a lawsuit on March 18, 2025, targeting the Trump administration's removal of applications for income-driven repayment (IDR) plans.
IDR plans, created in the 1990s, were designed to make student loan payments affordable by linking them to borrowers' income and offering debt cancellation after 20-25 years.
More than 12 million borrowers were enrolled in IDR plans as of September 2024, highlighting their critical role in the student loan system.
The AFT claims the administration's actions have effectively frozen the student loan system, harming working-class borrowers who rely on these plans.
The U.S. Department of Education has not yet responded to the lawsuit or provided further comment on the removal of IDR applications.