S. 532 – Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2019

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Updated April 14, 2026 at 2:01 AM UTC

The Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2019 modifies the Higher Education Act so that teachers who are spouses of active‑duty service members can remain eligible for federal teacher loan forgiveness even if a required relocation forces them to pause their full‑time teaching. The change lets them count non‑consecutive years of service and includes teachers working at Department of Defense schools overseas.

Key Provisions

Adds a new “continuing eligibility for certain military spouses” clause to the loan forgiveness rules for both Part B (direct) and Part D (cancellation) teacher loans.
Defines a “qualified military spouse” as a teacher who missed a teaching year because they moved with a spouse who received a permanent change of station order, or who taught at a Defense Dependents Education school abroad.
Allows teachers to qualify for forgiveness after completing five full, but possibly non‑consecutive, years of eligible teaching, provided any gaps were due to the spouse’s relocation.
Requires the Secretary of Education to report to Congress every two years on how many individuals remained eligible under this provision.
Applies only to teachers who begin full‑time employment on or after the law’s enactment date.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1386-1387)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

February 14, 2019

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

February 14, 2019

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1386-1387)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

February 14, 2019

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 532 on the floor

1 Democrat

Sen. Benjamin L. CardinD-MD · Feb 14, 2019

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to the bipartisan Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2018, which I am introducing today with Senators Cornyn…

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to the bipartisan Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2018, which I am introducing today with Senators Cornyn and Jones. This legislation eliminates a barrier for teachers in military families to earn federal student loan forgiveness for their years of public service.

The Department of Education's Teacher Loan Forgiveness program rightfully incentivizes teachers to commit to students in our lowest income school districts in exchange for up to $17,500 in Federal student loan forgiveness. Teachers qualify for the Federal student loan forgiveness once they have taught full-time for at least five consecutive years at a low income school or educational service agency. Teachers who are forced to move in the middle of the school year to follow their spouse's relocation or reassignment to another installation in the United States or abroad lose their accrued eligibility for the program and must restart their five years of service under current law.

Last Congress, a Maryland constituent brought to my attention the barriers her daughter faced when seeking Federal student loan forgiveness despite her commitment to public service. Her daughter, a teacher married to a member of the military, was in the middle of her fifth consecutive year teaching at one of Maryland's lower income schools. As any military spouse knows, relocation or reassignment orders can come at any time, upending the lives of the service member and their family. Rather than being able to complete a fifth year of teaching in a Maryland school, this family had to relocate with three months left in the school year. Despite this family's double commitment to service for our military and our schoolchildren, this military spouse missed the opportunity to have a portion of her Federal student loans forgiven. No military spouse

should be punished for following his or her spouse's relocation or reassignment.

The legislation that Senators Cornyn, Jones and I have introduced is a common sense proposal to allow military spouses to earn the benefits that they have dutifully worked towards and continue to incentivize individuals to teach our hardest to educate children. Our legislation provides a waiver from the Department of Education's Teacher Loan Forgiveness program's five consecutive years of service requirement for qualified military spouses if their spouse is relocated during the school year pursuant to military orders from the Armed Forces. This waiver will allow individuals to remain eligible for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program should they resume teaching full-time at a qualifying low-income school district within one year of their relocation. In addition, this legislation requires the Department of Education to provide a report to Congress every two years on the number of military spouses who remained eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness due to this legislation. In addition, it would allow military spouses that follow their service member overseas to accrue periods of service towards the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program if they teach in one of the Department of Defense Education Activities operated schools.

I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to help families who are wholly committed to public service by supporting the Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act. No family committed to service of our country should lose out on earned benefits due to a technicality.

Sen. Benjamin L. CardinD-MD · Feb 14, 2019

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to the bipartisan Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2018, which I am introducing today with Senators Cornyn…

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to the bipartisan Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2018, which I am introducing today with Senators Cornyn and Jones. This legislation eliminates a barrier for teachers in military families to earn federal student loan forgiveness for their years of public service.

The Department of Education's Teacher Loan Forgiveness program rightfully incentivizes teachers to commit to students in our lowest income school districts in exchange for up to $17,500 in Federal student loan forgiveness. Teachers qualify for the Federal student loan forgiveness once they have taught full-time for at least five consecutive years at a low income school or educational service agency. Teachers who are forced to move in the middle of the school year to follow their spouse's relocation or reassignment to another installation in the United States or abroad lose their accrued eligibility for the program and must restart their five years of service under current law.

Last Congress, a Maryland constituent brought to my attention the barriers her daughter faced when seeking Federal student loan forgiveness despite her commitment to public service. Her daughter, a teacher married to a member of the military, was in the middle of her fifth consecutive year teaching at one of Maryland's lower income schools. As any military spouse knows, relocation or reassignment orders can come at any time, upending the lives of the service member and their family. Rather than being able to complete a fifth year of teaching in a Maryland school, this family had to relocate with three months left in the school year. Despite this family's double commitment to service for our military and our schoolchildren, this military spouse missed the opportunity to have a portion of her Federal student loans forgiven. No military spouse

should be punished for following his or her spouse's relocation or reassignment.

The legislation that Senators Cornyn, Jones and I have introduced is a common sense proposal to allow military spouses to earn the benefits that they have dutifully worked towards and continue to incentivize individuals to teach our hardest to educate children. Our legislation provides a waiver from the Department of Education's Teacher Loan Forgiveness program's five consecutive years of service requirement for qualified military spouses if their spouse is relocated during the school year pursuant to military orders from the Armed Forces. This waiver will allow individuals to remain eligible for the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program should they resume teaching full-time at a qualifying low-income school district within one year of their relocation. In addition, this legislation requires the Department of Education to provide a report to Congress every two years on the number of military spouses who remained eligible for Teacher Loan Forgiveness due to this legislation. In addition, it would allow military spouses that follow their service member overseas to accrue periods of service towards the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program if they teach in one of the Department of Defense Education Activities operated schools.

I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to help families who are wholly committed to public service by supporting the Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act. No family committed to service of our country should lose out on earned benefits due to a technicality.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued February 14, 2019

II

116th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 532

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 14, 2019

Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, and Mr. Jones) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide that an individual may remain eligible to participate in the teacher loan forgiveness program under title IV of such Act if the individual’s period of consecutive years of employment as a full-time teacher is interrupted because the individual is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who is relocated during the school year pursuant to military orders for a permanent change of duty station, or the individual works in a school of the defense dependents’ education system under the Defense Dependents’ Education Act of 1978 due to such a relocation, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2019.

2.

Continuing eligibility to participate in student loan forgiveness or loan cancellation program for teachers whose period of consecutive employment is interrupted because of military orders requiring spouse to relocate to new residence, or who work in a school of the defense dependents' education system due to such a relocation

(a)

Continuing Eligibility

(1)

Part B Loans

Section 428J(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078–10(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(4)

Continuing eligibility for certain military spouses

(A)

In general

(i)

Complete but nonconsecutive years

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subsection (b), an individual who is employed in a full-time teaching position that meets the requirements of this section for a period that includes 5 complete but nonconsecutive years may be eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to such subsection, if the individual was a qualified military spouse, as defined in subparagraph (B)(i), with respect to any year during such period for which the individual was not employed as a full-time teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of this section.

(ii)

Employment in defense department schools

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subsection (b), an individual may be eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to such subsection, if the individual is a qualified military spouse, as defined in subparagraph (B)(ii), and the individual has been employed as a full-time teacher for 5 complete school years in a school described in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) or in a school of the defense dependents’ education system under the Defense Dependents’ Education Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.) that is located outside of the United States, and met the requirements of subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(1).

(B)

Qualified military spouse defined

In this paragraph, the term qualified military spouse means—

(i)

with respect to a year, an individual who—

(I)

during the previous year, served as a teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and met the requirements of subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(1);

(II)

is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who is relocated during the year pursuant to military orders for a permanent change of duty station;

(III)

did not serve as a teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) during the year or any portion of the year because the individual accompanied the spouse to a new residence as a result of such military orders; and

(IV)

during the following year, resumed service as a teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and met the requirements of subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(1); or

(ii)

an individual who is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who is relocated overseas during a year of employment as a teacher for which the individual seeks loan forgiveness under this section pursuant to military orders for a change of duty station and the individual accompanied the spouse to a new residence overseas as a result of such military orders.

(C)

Reports to Congress

Not later than 90 days after the end of the second academic year during which this paragraph is in effect, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the number of individuals who, as a result of this paragraph, remained eligible for loan forgiveness pursuant to subsection (b) during the 2 most recent academic years.

.

(2)

Part D Loans

Section 460(g) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087j(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(4)

Continuing eligibility for certain military spouses

(A)

In general

(i)

Complete but nonconsecutive years

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subsection (b), an individual who is employed in a full-time teaching position that meets the requirements of this section for a period that includes 5 complete but nonconsecutive years may be eligible for loan cancellation pursuant to such subsection, if the individual was a qualified military spouse, as defined in subparagraph (B)(i), with respect to any year during such period for which the individual was not employed as a full-time teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of this section.

(ii)

Employment in defense department schools

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subsection (b), an individual may be eligible for loan cancellation pursuant to such subsection, if the individual is a qualified military spouse, as defined in subparagraph (B)(ii), and the individual has been employed as a full-time teacher for 5 complete school years in a school described in subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) or in a school of the defense dependents’ education system under the Defense Dependents’ Education Act of 1978 (20 U.S.C. 921 et seq.) that is located outside of the United States, and met the requirements of subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(1).

(B)

Qualified military spouse defined

In this paragraph, the term qualified military spouse means—

(i)

with respect to a year, an individual who—

(I)

during the previous year, served as a teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and met the requirements of subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(1);

(II)

is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who is relocated during the year pursuant to military orders for a permanent change of duty station;

(III)

did not serve as a teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) during the year or any portion of the year because the individual accompanied the spouse to a new residence as a result of such military orders; and

(IV)

during the following year, resumed service as a teacher in a school or location meeting the requirements of subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(1) and met the requirements of subparagraph (B) of subsection (b)(1); or

(ii)

an individual who is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who is relocated overseas during a year of employment as a teacher for which the individual seeks loan forgiveness under this section pursuant to military orders for a change of duty station and the individual accompanied the spouse to a new residence overseas as a result of such military orders.

(C)

Reports to Congress

Not later than 90 days after the end of the second academic year during which this paragraph is in effect, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing the number of individuals who, as a result of this paragraph, remained eligible for loan cancellation pursuant to subsection (b) during the 2 most recent academic years.

.

(b)

Effective date

The amendments made by subsection (a) shall apply with respect to individuals who first become employed as full-time teachers on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.