In 2019, Colorado legislators passed Senate Bill 19-003 to address Colorado’s educator shortages by providing loan forgiveness to educators. The law authorizes CDHE to offer loan repayment assistance on qualified loans for educators, mainly for those who serve in rural and hard-to-fill positions in Colorado.
Those who qualify are eligible to receive up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness for a given year. The program is currently funded for five years. For those individuals who continue to qualify, they may apply every year of the program for up to $5,000 in loan forgiveness annually. With limited funds available, not every educator who applies will receive loan forgiveness.
History of the Program
In 2019-2020 CDHE launched the first application cycle and after receiving applications had funding paused as state budgets were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in no loan forgiveness awards for that cycle.
The 2021-2022 fiscal year was the first year the program distributed loan forgiveness.
- How to Apply
Please click on the link here to submit an application for the Educator Loan Forgiveness Program.
For technical assistance, including password resets, please contact: EdLoanForgiveness@tuition.io
- Timeline
The application is closed and will open Spring 2025.
- Who Can Apply?
Program qualifications are as follows:
- Must currently work in a Colorado public school (preK-12) for the 2022-2023 school year (this includes BOCES and facility schools) as a teacher, principal or special service provider
- Must work in an approved rural school/district or work in a content-shortage area in a non-rural school/district
- Must hold a current teaching or special service provider license valid in the state of Colorado
- Only applicants with Federal Student Loans in their name qualify (check to see if you have qualifying loans here.)
- First preference will be given to applicants in approved rural schools/districts, followed by applicants in content-shortage area in non-rural schools/districts
- Questions
Answers to frequently asked questions can be found in the Colorado Educator Loan Forgiveness Informational Booklet.
If you have any additional questions about the program or you find a link on this page is broken, please contact:
EdLoanForgiveness@dhe.state.co.us
For technical assistance with the application, please contact:
- Additional Educator Funding Resources
Colorado Center for Rural Education: For information about stipends available to rural educators, please see the Colorado Center for Rural Education’s website: https://www.unco.edu/colorado-center-for-rural-education/stipends/. Stipends are available for rural student teachers, in-service educators, alternative licensure candidates, National Board certification candidates, and/or substitute teachers.
Federal Loan Forgiveness Programs for Educators: There are 4 Federal Loan Forgiveness programs for educators. Please see the following website for more information: https://studentaid.gov/articles/teacher-loan-forgiveness-options/.