Sponsors (4)
Authorizes transfer of eligible Parent PLUS loans to the student borrower under conditions that preserve loan terms and PSLF credit and relieve the parent of liability.
Official title: To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow certain Federal student loans to be transferred from a parent to a child, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 11, 2026 by Bill Foster · Last progress June 11, 2026
The bill lets students take on parent-held federal loans (preserving terms, protecting borrowing limits, and enabling PSLF/Direct-plan benefits) and relieves parents of debt, but eligibility safeguards (credit/repayment ability, good-standing and enrollment timing requirements) and administrative costs will limit who can benefit and create uncertainty for some borrowers.
Parents/families are relieved of liability for principal, interest, and fees when a parent-held federal student loan is transferred to the child, reducing parents' debt burden and financial risk.
Students who receive transferred parent loans can have prior qualifying PSLF payments made while the parent was the borrower count toward the student's 120-payment PSLF requirement, bringing forgiveness closer for affected borrowers.
Students may elect to treat a transferred loan as a Direct PLUS loan for repayment-plan eligibility, potentially giving them access to income-driven repayment plans and other Direct repayment options.
Low-income or credit-poor students may be prevented from receiving transferred parent loans because transferees must demonstrate ability to repay (income, credit, DTI), restricting access to relief for more financially vulnerable borrowers.
Parent loans that are delinquent or in default (or otherwise not in 'good standing' per Secretary rules) are ineligible for transfer, excluding many borrowers who may need relief most.
Students must generally be out of at least half-time enrollment (or approved fellowships/training) for 180 days before a transfer, delaying relief and disadvantaging recent graduates or those seeking immediate repayment changes.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows eligible Parent PLUS loans to be transferred from the parent borrower to the child whose education the loan paid, if the loan is in good standing and the child is at least 18 and can demonstrate ability to repay. The transfer makes the child the borrower, relieves the parent of liability, preserves original loan terms and origination date, and preserves prior qualifying Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) payments made while the parent was borrower. The transfer is conditional: the child must sign an agreement acknowledging PSLF effects, must have left at least half-time enrollment for 180 days (unless in approved fellowship/rehab training), and must meet Secretary-defined ability-to-repay criteria; transferred loans may be treated as Direct PLUS loans for repayment-plan eligibility and won’t count against the child’s annual or aggregate federal student loan limits.