The Education Department filed notices of appeal this week in two legal challenges over its efforts to enact new rules to restrict student loan forgiveness. Those rules were struck down earlier this summer by two separate courts, providing borrowers with a significant victory. But the department’s appeals ensure that the legal challenges, and the uncertainty for borrowers with student loans on track for loan forgiveness, will continue.

The latest developments concern Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or PSLF, a program that allows borrowers to discharge their student loans after 10 years if they repay their loans under specific repayment plans while working in eligible full-time public service employment. The Trump administration had sought to limit PSLF by relief giving the Education Department the power to disqualify otherwise-eligible employers from participation. The department’s appeals this week of its recent court losses comes on the heels of its separate efforts this month to reverse PSLF credit for some borrowers, creating even more chaos and uncertainty for the program.

Here’s what’s going on with PSLF, and what the appeals means for borrowers pursuing student loan forgiveness.

Trump Administration Had Sought To Restrict Student Loan Forgiveness Under PSLF

Last year, Republican lawmakers in Congress passed legislation that upended many federal student loan repayment and forgiveness programs, leading to some of the most substantial changes to federal student loans in decades. But despite all the reforms, Congress left the PSLF program intact.

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The Trump administration instead turned to an administrative process to revamp PSLF and restrict student loan forgiveness under the program. Following an executive order issued by President Trump last year, the Education........

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