Thousands of borrowers will have their debts forgiven.

When it was first enacted in 2007, the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program was supposed to wipe student loans for anyone who worked in a public sector job for at least ten years. This included positions like teachers, police officers, civil servants, and more. Since the program’s beginning, however, nearly all of the applicants have been summarily denied, leaving only a very select few to reap the benefits this program was supposed to confer. As of today, the Department of Education is hoping to change that.

Today, the US Department of Education announced a massive, sweeping overhaul of the Loan Forgiveness program, courtesy of President Joe Biden’s efforts to ease the massive student loan debt that US citizens have been experiencing for the last 20 years. When the changes go into effect, an estimated 22,000 student loan borrowers will immediately have all of their debts forgiven, a grand total of about $1.7 billion. Another 27,000 borrowers could have an additional $2.8 billion in debt erased if they can provide evidence they worked a public sector job for the requisite period. Borrowers will also be able to make corrections to their payments, so even for the roughly 550,000 borrowers who won’t have their debts wiped out entirely, it should substantially lessen the time they need to dedicate to paying off their remaining debts.

“Borrowers who devote a decade of their lives to public service should be able to rely on the promise of Public Service Loan Forgiveness,” Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said. “The system has not delivered on that promise to date, but that is about to change for many borrowers who have served their communities and their country.”

“This is a good day for teachers, nurses, servicemembers, and millions of workers serving on the front lines of the pandemic,” said Seth Frotman, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. “For too long, those who give the most to our communities and our country have been given the runaround and forced to shoulder debts that should have been canceled.”