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Teachers union class action says Education Department is stalling PSLF buybacks and cutting forgiveness credit

On October 30, 2026, the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten and nine public service borrowers filed Weingarten v. McMahon in federal court in Washington, D.C. The proposed class action alleges the Education Department has stalled about 88,000 PSLF buyback requests, removed credited months and stopped posting payments. The department says it is fixing coding errors. The case seeks a court order, not money, and has no claim form.

By Class Action Pulse Staff Published

Reported from primary sources · Verified against official filings and settlement records.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.

Key facts

  • Case: Weingarten et al. v. U.S. Department of Education and Linda McMahon, No. 1:26-cv-03826, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
  • Filed: October 30, 2026, by the American Federation of Teachers, its president Randi Weingarten and nine public service borrowers.
  • Core claims: The lawsuit alleges the Education Department is sitting on about 88,000 Public Service Loan Forgiveness buyback requests, cutting previously credited months from borrowers' counts, and failing to post new qualifying payments.
  • What it seeks: A court order forcing the department to process buybacks, restore removed credit, post payments and cancel loans for borrowers who qualify. It does not seek money damages.
  • Department response: A spokesperson told CNBC the agency is fixing "coding errors" made under the prior administration.
  • Status: No class has been certified. There is no claim form.

In this article

Teachers, nurses and other public workers who say they have already put in 10 years toward student loan forgiveness filed a proposed class action on Friday, October 30, 2026, accusing the U.S. Department of Education of leaving them stuck in debt.

The case was brought by the American Federation of Teachers, a union the complaint says represents 1.875 million members, along with its president Randi Weingarten and nine borrowers from seven states. They are represented by Berger Montague and the advocacy group Protect Borrowers.

The defendants are the Education Department and Secretary Linda McMahon, sued in her official role. The department has not yet filed a response in court, and the claims below are allegations that have not been tested.

What the lawsuit says is going wrong

The complaint describes three separate problems with Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF:

  • Stalled buybacks: Borrowers who have 10 years of public service but are short on qualifying payments because of past forbearances can ask to "buy back" those months. The suit says about 88,000 of those requests were pending as of April 30, 2026.
  • Clawbacks: Starting in August 2026, the department began lowering some borrowers' qualifying payment counts, removing months that had already been credited. The complaint says some borrowers received "Qualifying Payment Reduction Update" notices without a clear explanation.
  • Payments not posted: Since the July 2026 payment period, the suit says, the department has stopped adding new payment periods to the online PSLF tracker for some borrowers, so they cannot tell when they reach 120 payments.

The lawsuit claims each problem violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal law that governs how agencies act, and argues the clawbacks also violate the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of due process.

Why this matters for public service workers For borrowers at or near 120 qualifying payments, every month of delay is another monthly bill they say they should not owe. Several plaintiffs owe between about $145,000 and $338,000, according to the complaint.

How PSLF and the buyback work

Congress created PSLF in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007. The law says the Education Department "shall cancel" the remaining federal Direct Loan balance of a borrower who makes 120 qualifying monthly payments while working full time for a government or qualifying nonprofit employer.

The buyback option came from a rule finalized on November 1, 2022. It lets borrowers pay now for months they spent in certain forbearances or deferments while working in public service, but only if those months would bring them to 120. According to the complaint:

  • Borrowers file a "PSLF Reconsideration" request once they have 120 months of eligible employment.
  • If approved, they receive a buyback agreement and must pay the full amount within 90 days, or the agreement is voided.
  • The department requires borrowers to keep making regular payments while the request is pending.

The backlog grew after the department placed about 8 million borrowers enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan into a special forbearance in mid-2024, after federal courts blocked parts of that plan. Months spent in that forbearance did not count toward PSLF, which pushed many borrowers to rely on the buyback. The complaint says the department later told SAVE borrowers in July 2026 that they had 90 days to pick a new plan.

The buyback backlog in numbers

The complaint draws its figures from status reports the department filed in a separate AFT lawsuit, AFT v. Department of Education, No. 1:25-cv-00802.

  • Pending buyback requests rose from 49,318 in April 2025 to 89,720 in March 2026.
  • Over that period, the department decided about 1,472 requests per month on average.
  • In April 2026, it received 4,790 requests and decided 6,870, the first month it decided more than it received.
  • As of April 30, 2026, about 88,000 requests were still pending.

Even if no new requests arrived and the department kept its fastest pace, the complaint estimates clearing that backlog would take more than 18 months.

What the backlog means for one borrower A borrower who has already reached 10 years of public service and files a buyback request today joins a queue of tens of thousands. Meanwhile, the complaint says, the department expects that borrower to keep making monthly payments.

The borrowers who sued

The nine borrowers named in the complaint illustrate each problem. The figures below are their own allegations:

  • Antonio Lozada of Pembroke Pines, Florida, owes about $191,000. He had 116 qualifying payments by May 2024, was placed in forbearance, and his buyback requests have not been processed.
  • David Petley of Coos Bay, Oregon, owes about $338,000. He had 110 payments by June 2024 and was on track for forgiveness in April 2025 before an involuntary forbearance began.
  • Renee Johnson of Newport Beach, California, owes about $145,000. Her tracker showed 118 payments in June 2026, then dropped to 114.
  • Elizabeth Schoepflin of Massapequa, New York, a school speech language pathologist, owes about $43,000. She had 119 payments before an August 2026 notice removed 14 months.
  • Carly Baetz of Chicago owes about $84,000. She had 118 payments on some loans by June 2026, but the complaint says her payments for July through October 2026 have not been posted.

The other named borrowers are Jennie Allen of Catskill, New York; Jennifer Jessel of Pittsburgh; Alexander Watts of the Columbus, Ohio, area; and Stephanie Costa of Ardsley, New York.

The three proposed classes

The borrowers ask the court to certify three nationwide classes under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(2), which is used when a group seeks a court order rather than money:

  • PSLF Buyback Class: borrowers who met the public service requirements, filed a buyback application, and did not have it processed within 90 days of filing.
  • PSLF Clawback Class: borrowers who had previously credited months removed and would have reached 120 payments without that removal.
  • PSLF Qualifying Payments Withholding Class: borrowers whose qualifying payments have not been credited, when those months would be their 120th payment or would make them eligible for a buyback.

The lawsuit asks for a declaration that the department's conduct is unlawful and a permanent injunction requiring it to process buybacks on time, restore removed months, credit payments and cancel the loans of borrowers who qualify. It also seeks attorneys' fees.

AFT said in a statement that the case is a successor to Weingarten v. DeVos, a 2019 lawsuit that settled in October 2021 and opened a reconsideration path for borrowers who had been denied PSLF.

What the Education Department says

An Education Department spokesperson told CNBC the agency is correcting "coding errors" made by the Biden administration. "These errors resulted in inaccurate payment counts for some borrowers," the spokesperson said. "The Department remains committed to ensuring that every qualifying payment is properly credited to a borrower's account."

The complaint argues the department has not explained the nature, timing or cause of those errors to affected borrowers.

Records worth keeping Take dated screenshots of your PSLF payment count on StudentAid.gov, keep copies of employer certification forms and any buyback agreement, and save bank statements showing your payments. These records help if your count changes.

What PSLF borrowers can do now

You do not need to sign up to be covered by this lawsuit. If the court certifies the classes, borrowers who fit the definitions would be included automatically, because the case seeks a court order rather than individual payments.

Borrowers who think a buyback has stalled or a count is wrong can check the PSLF tracker on StudentAid.gov, contact their loan servicer, and submit a PSLF reconsideration request through Federal Student Aid. Keep any notices you receive about count changes.

We also covered a separate case over closed-school loan discharges. For cases accepting claimants now, see our list of class action cases you can join.

This article is for information only and is not legal advice.

What happens next

The department will respond to the complaint, and the borrowers will need to ask the court to certify the three classes. They could also ask for faster relief while the case is pending. The case had not been publicly assigned a judge in the materials we reviewed. We will update this story as the court acts.

Frequently asked questions

What is the PSLF buyback lawsuit about?

The suit alleges the Education Department is failing to process PSLF buyback requests, removing credited months from borrowers' counts and not posting new payments.

Who filed the PSLF class action?

The American Federation of Teachers, its president Randi Weingarten and nine borrowers, represented by Berger Montague and Protect Borrowers.

How many PSLF buyback requests are pending?

According to department filings cited in the complaint, about 88,000 buyback requests were pending as of April 30, 2026.

Will this lawsuit pay borrowers money?

No. It seeks a court order forcing the department to act, including canceling loans for those who qualify, not money damages.

Why did my PSLF payment count go down?

The department told CNBC it is correcting prior "coding errors." The lawsuit challenges those reductions as unlawful.

Do I need to join the PSLF lawsuit?

No. If the classes are certified, borrowers who fit the definitions would be covered automatically. There is no claim form.

Sources

Class Action Pulse is a news and information service, not a law firm, and this article is general information — not legal advice. Eligibility, deadlines, and payouts are set by each settlement's official administrator and the courts; always verify the details through the official source before you file.