Did you have your federal TEACH Grant converted into an interest-bearing loan?
If so, the U.S. Department of Education window is now open to apply for debt relief.
During the week of Feb. 4, 2019, eligible individuals should be on the lookout for an email from noreply@studentloans.gov, advising them that they may qualify for a loan conversion.
If you do not receive an email, but believe you should have, contact the USDOE’s TEACH Grant servicer, FedLoan Servicing at 855-499-9543, 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. Have your qualifying loan documents on hand when you call. You can also email FedLoan Servicing at TEACHgrantconversions@myfedloan.org. Be sure to include your reconsideration request and a phone number in your email.
Since it began in 2008, the TEACH Grant program has recruited talented educators into hard-to-fill jobs in lower-income school districts. The program requires participants to annually submit paperwork for four years to certify they teach in a low-income school. However, the paperwork is confusing and if participants submitted it late, or had missing information, many saw their grants converted into loans. To avoid future problems, the Education Department is instituting a universal deadline for submitting certification paperwork.