 TITLE: What Is Teacher Loan Forgiveness? CONTENT: Who Qualifies for Teacher Loan Forgiveness?\n-------------------------------------------\nAs with other student loan forgiveness programs, there's a lot of fine print you'll want to understand before you submit your application. Here's how to tell if you meet the basic eligibility requirements:\n*   You have an eligible direct subsidized Loan, direct unsubsidized loan, a subsidized federal Stafford loan or an unsubsidized federal Stafford loan.\n*   You work in an elementary school, secondary school or educational service agency that serves low-income students.\n*   You must not have held an outstanding balance on direct loans or any Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) as of October 1, 1998. Additionally, teacher loan forgiveness candidates must not have held a direct loan or FFEL before October 1, 1998. In order to qualify for forgiveness, you must first pay off loans borrowed before this date.\n*   You must meet the qualifications of a qualified teacher, which include attaining at least a bachelor's degree and receiving full state teacher certification. Plus, you cannot have had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary or provisional basis.\nNote that if you've defaulted on a college loan, you won't be eligible for teacher loan forgiveness until arrangements have been made to repay the loan, suitable to the approval of the student loan provider.\nIf you're a teacher who did not complete a full school calendar year of instruction, the year may ultimately count toward your teacher loan forgiveness program under the following conditions:\n*   You finished at least half of the qualifying school's academic year.\n*   Your school or educational service agency agrees that the contract requirements for the academic year were completed, and you're in good standing.\n*   You can still qualify for a teacher loan forgiveness program if you spent the time away from school on at least a half-time basis, in a qualified area of education instruction (usually the course of study category the teacher is instructing at a qualified school or educational service agency).\n*   You can also qualify for loan forgiveness with a medical or health condition recognized under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, or if you're a member of the U.S. armed forces or a U.S. military reserve member called for duty for more than a 30-day period.\nThere are also other requirements based on where you teach and whether or not you're new to the profession. Read more about the eligibility requirements on the Federal Student Aid website. END