Trump Moves to Block Student Loan Forgiveness for Employees of Gender-Afirming Nonprofit Organizations

On March 7, President Donald Trump signed “Restoring Public Service Loan Forgiveness,” an executive order directing the Secretary of Education to revise the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. In the order, Trump requested that the definition of “public service” be revised to exclude any nonprofit that engages in activities the Trump administration considers to have a “substantial illegal purpose.” This includes organizations that support gender-affirming care for individuals under 19.

Moreover, the order unjustly discriminates against nonprofits that assist transgender people, falsely portraying life-saving gender-affirming care as violent child abuse. This is the exact opposite of reality—Both evidence and several health organizations confirm that providing youth with gender-affirming care is “clinically sound and the most effective way to alleviate symptoms of gender dysphoria, which can cause serious mental distress, anxiety, and depression when untreated.”

Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Education released drafts of plans that follow through with the order. These proposed rollbacks will immensely affect the livelihoods of LGBTQ+ people. LGBTQ+ adults are more likely to utilize student loans, live at a higher rate of poverty, or work for nonprofit organizations.

“A recent executive order could potentially disqualify anyone working for an organization involved in gender-affirming care, or possibly those serving transgender individuals more broadly, from the PSLF program,” says Brad Sears, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Law and Policy at the Williams Institute.

As of today, there aren’t any distinct organizations that have been targeted, but LGBTQ+ 501 (c)(3) nonprofits are likely under attack. The broad language of the executive order makes it impossible to define what “substantial illegal purpose” or “aiding and abetting illegal discrimination” means. Undoubtedly, hospital employees who provide gender-affirming care, teachers and schools that protect trans students by refusing to out them, and legal groups could lose their PSLF benefits.

This is just another item on a long list of attacks on LGBTQ+ protections. Personally, I believe that these changes are destructive and are a thinly veiled attempt to discourage LGBTQ+ folks from pursuing higher education. Not only will the LGBTQ+ community suffer, but straight allies of the queer community will be affected as well: anyone could come under attack for daring to respect the pronouns or gender identity of other people.