10:15 AM EDT, 03/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with comments from the US Department of Education in the last two paragraphs.)

The American Federation of Teachers, or AFT, said Wednesday it is suing the US Department of Education for "breaking the student loan system."

The Education Department is "denying borrowers' access to affordable loan payments and blocking progress towards Public Service Loan Forgiveness, in violation of federal law," the union said.

The AFT claimed that federal education officials have removed access to income-driven repayment plans by removing the application form from the Education Department's website and "secretly ordering student loan servicers to halt all processing."

The suit was filed in federal court in Washington D.C. and is seeking a court order to restore borrowers' access to the affordable loan plans, the union said.

"A federal circuit court of appeals issued an injunction preventing the [US] Department of Education from implementing the Biden Administration's illegal SAVE Plan and parts of other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans," a Department of Education spokesperson told MT Newswires.

"The Department is working to ensure these programs conform with the 8th Circuit's ruling, and anticipates the revised form allowing borrowers to change repayment plans to be available as soon as next week," the spokesperson said.

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