The government just dropped its appeal — so loan forgiveness for public servants stays as Congress wrote it

Teachers, nurses, firefighters and nonprofit workers who took lower-paid public-service jobs were promised a deal: ten years of payments, and the rest of their student loans forgiven. A new federal rule would have let the Education Secretary disqualify employers whose work clashed with the administration's policies — until a federal court blocked the rewrite earlier this year, in a case brought by San Francisco, Santa Clara County and a coalition of local governments, nonprofits and unions. This week the federal government abandoned its appeal, formally ending the matter and keeping the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme working as Congress intended. 'Millions of people in our country struggle under crushing student loan debt,' said San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu. 'This victory ensures the programme is here to stay… teachers, emergency responders, public health professionals and other public servants can build stable futures while serving their communities.'

SDG 10 · Reduced inequalities — Mechanism: legal ruling