Responding to inquiries her office received regarding recent national press accounts about federal legislation which allows teachers serving in low-income or subject shortage areas to have their federal
student loan cancelled; Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen announced that teachers in the territory are also eligible to have up
to 100 percent of their Federal Perkins Loan or up to $5000 of their Federal Stafford Loan or their Federal Family Education Loan (FEEL) cancelled.
"My office received a number of inquires about reports that were made on CNN and other national news networks about the incentives that are being offered nationally to address the severe teacher shortage problem in many mainland jurisdictions," Christensen said. "They wanted to know if Virgin Islands teachers could get their student loans cancelled as mainland teachers can."
According to the U.S. Department of Education, teachers are eligible to
have their Perkins or National Direct Student Loan (NDSL) cancelled if they are (1) teaching full-time in an elementary or secondary school that serves low-income students and who took out a Perkins made on or after July 1, 1987; (2) teaching in an elementary or secondary school system that has a shortage of teachers in a designated subject; or (3) teaching in disabled students in a public or other nonprofit elementary or secondary school.
School systems must send relevant data to the U.S. D.O.E., annually, which determines which schools are eligible.
For more information or to find out whether your school has been designated as serving in a low-income or subject shortage area you should contact the Virgin Islands Department of Education, as well as, your Perkins/NDSL or Federal Stafford Loan promissory note.