The U.S. Education Department is loosening the rules around a grant program that’s meant to help aspiring teachers pay for college but has actually left many stuck with debt. The update will reduce paperwork requirements for federal TEACH Grants, which offer up to $4,000 a year for students planning to teach at schools that serve low-income students. Thursday’s change was finalized under the Trump administration but is just now taking effect. Lawmakers have been calling for an overhaul since a federal watchdog agency found that thousands of the grants had been converted to loans because students failed to meet paperwork requirements.
