In April, the Michigan Department of Education opened a round of Student Loan Repayment Program applications, which closed on Monday, May 19, 2025. Now school districts must verify each applicant’s employment details, in accordance with the updated eligibility criteria for the program, before the deadline of Tuesday, June 17, 2025. Any applicant whose district does not complete the verification step by the deadline will NOT receive funds under the program.
MDE notified all local and intermediate district superintendents of this deadline via the MDE Official Weekly Communication on May 22, 2025, and followed up with a notification to authorized users of the Grant Electronic Monitoring System/Michigan Administrative Review System (GEMS/MARS) on May 23, 2025.
While only districts where individuals claimed employment were sent these notifications, this included more than 570 districts. Please, first check your district’s GEMS/MARS notifications before contacting MDE. Many districts may believe they have employees who applied, but actually do not.
The Student Loan Repayment Program webpage reinforces the deadline and provides a downloadable PDF document explaining exactly what districts need to do to complete the employment verification step. Please check your email to find out whether you received any official notifications from MDE requesting completion of the process.
As always, educators and district staff members who have questions about the Student Loan Repayment Program can contact us at MDE-EdWorkforceGrants@Michigan.gov.