A retired student-loan borrower is fighting for public service debt relief. Now he's named in a lawsuit against Trump.
· Business Insider
Vanessa Valadez for BI
After working in public service for over a decade, Donald Knierim is still waiting for student-loan forgiveness.
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Now he's participating in a lawsuit in hopes of getting relief for himself — and thousands of others.
Knierim first spoke to Business Insider earlier in October. In 2015, the 71-year-old started working for Metra, Chicago's commuter railway. His goal was to stay on the job for a decade in order to earn Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after 10 years.
He thought he had succeeded in November 2025, when his Federal Student Aid dashboard read, "Congratulations! You've satisfied your obligation, and no additional payments are required for this loan."
Knierim received an initial notice that he achieved Public Service Loan Forgiveness.Vanessa Valadez for BI
So he retired from Metra, with the belief that his student-loan payments were in the past. Months later, he received another notice: 15 payments that had previously counted toward his forgiveness progress were now rescinded, and his outstanding balance was reinstated.
On Friday, the American Federation of Teachers filed a lawsuit that includes Knierim as a declarant, alleging that the Department of Education illegally clawed back borrowers' PSLF payments and is stalling debt relief for thousands.
The stakes are high for Knierim; he cannot return to work because caring for his wife, who is dealing with serious health issues, is a full-time job.
"He lives on a fixed income, and diverting those funds to his student loans and away from mounting household expenses and savings puts his wife and him in a financially precarious situation," the lawsuit said.
Challenges with PSLF have mounted over the past few months, with borrowers reporting inaccurate payment counts and stalled applications to the buyback process, which allows a borrower to "buy back" time spent in deferment or forbearance if it would put them at the relief threshold.
Knierim is named in a lawsuit against the Education Department regarding stalled debt relief for thousands of PSLF borrowers.Vanessa Valadez for BI
Ellen Keast, communications director for the Education Department's undersecretary, said in a statement that the PSLF buyback process requires "case-by-case reviews and extensive paperwork."
"FSA has already begun transitioning this work to loan servicers as part of a broader effort to streamline operations, reduce administrative burden, and modernize the process," Keast said. "Rather than acknowledge these realities, the union has yet again chosen litigation and election-year theatrics."
Knierim said he's grateful to be part of the lawsuit and to have "a strategic path forward."
"I have a flawless payment history," Knierim said. "I have never missed a payment, and I paid what they told me to pay."
This story is part of Business Insider's "Student Debt Spiral" series, which explores how rising student debt is changing the financial futures of millions. Do you have a story to share? Fill out this form, and we'll be in touch. Read more of our student-loan coverage here:
- He retired after he got notified of student-loan forgiveness. Then his payments came back.
- 'Hijacked': The 'code errors' that blindsided some student-loan borrowers
- 'It's going to hurt': How a surging student-loan payment is reshaping a family's future
The burden of stalled student-debt relief
Knierim has spent months seeking clarity on his account. He called and sent letters to Federal Student Aid and the ombudsman's office, and he even offered to pay a lump-sum amount if it would qualify him for PSLF.
He said no one ever responded to that offer. Worried that any further action on his account could jeopardize his loan forgiveness, he didn't make any payments during this time, so he was marked as delinquent and was set to default in November. The consequences of defaulting can be severe, including wage garnishment and the seizure of federal benefits like Social Security, which Knierim relies on.
Student-loan borrowers risk defaulting if they cannot afford payments while their relief is being processed.Vanessa Valadez for BI
His forbearance request was approved days before he was set to default, and a "reconsideration request" on his PSLF status is in progress.
The AFT's lawsuit said that Knierim's dilemma is likely "widespread, affecting thousands, if not tens of thousands, of borrowers." One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Elizabeth Schoepflin, had 14 payments toward PSLF rescinded, extending her repayment timeline by nearly a year and a half.
"Her servicer confirmed that there were no changes to her account that would explain the Department's clawback, and could not tell her why the Department took away the qualifying months," the lawsuit said.
Knierim said he's been diligent with his payments and that customer service representatives repeatedly assured him he was on track for loan forgiveness. He's hopeful he'll get the relief he's paid years toward and can continue his retirement with his student loans officially behind him.
"If I have to restore that payment, it's going to put my wife and me in a bad situation," Knierim said. "We're too tight in retirement to be shelling out money for stuff that we can't afford."
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