The Brief

The cities of Albuquerque, N.M., Boston, Chicago and San Francisco are suing the Trump administration over changes it plans to make to the popular Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, or PSLF.

The lawsuit, which also includes the nation's two largest teachers unions and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, comes less than a week after the U.S. Department of Education published a rule change to PSLF.

Effective July 1, 2026, the department says the change will allow it to deny loan forgiveness to workers whose government or nonprofit employers engage in activities with a "substantial illegal purpose." The job of defining "substantial illegal purpose" will fall not to the courts but to the education secretary.

PSLF was created by Congress in 2007, and signed by then-President George W. Bush, to cancel the federal student loan debts of borrowers who spend a decade working in public service, including teaching, nursing and policing.

According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the plaintiffs fear that a city or county government's resistance to the administration's immigration actions, for example, or anti-DEI policies, could lead the secretary to exclude that government's public workers from loan forgiveness. They worry that a local nurse or first responder could be denied loan forgiveness because their local leaders defied the Trump administration.

The complaint argues the rule is "an attempt to target organizations and jurisdictions whose missions and policies do not align with [the Trump administration's] political positions on immigration, race, gender, free speech, and public protest."

"Politically motivated retaliation, like what the administration has done here, should have no place in America," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs.

The plaintiff group also includes the National Council of Nonprofits, which said in a statement upon the rule's release:

"Nonprofits operate food banks, serve veterans, assist domestic violence survivors, deliver meals to seniors, respond to disasters, and much more. Nonprofits must be able to identify and meet those needs without political interference, fear of retribution, or exclusion from a program designed to support their employees."

Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent denounced the lawsuit.

"It is unconscionable that the plaintiffs are standing up for criminal activity," Kent said in a statement to NPR. "This is a commonsense reform that will stop taxpayer dollars from subsidizing organizations involved in terrorism, child trafficking, and transgender procedures that are doing irreversible harm to children."

In response to plaintiffs' concerns that the administration could use PSLF as a weapon to punish political opponents, Kent insisted "the Department will enforce [the rule] neutrally, without consideration of the employer's mission, ideology, or the population they serve."

The complaint says PSLF has allowed local governments to retain employees, including lawyers and engineers, who could earn more in the private sector. Albuquerque's leaders say that losing access to PSLF "would likely create an untenable staffing crisis."

In a statement, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu added: "The City is joining with cities, unions, and nonprofits across the country to protect a program that helps Boston's workforce and millions of Americans in public service careers pay for college."

What activities does the administration consider to be illegal? 

One key question raised by this rule change, and the lawsuit, is: How will the Education Department define activities with "substantial illegal purpose"?

According to the rule itself, such activities could include:

• "aiding and abetting violations of Federal immigration laws"
• "supporting terrorism or engaging in violence for the purpose of obstructing or influencing Federal Government policy"
• "engaging in the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children in violation of Federal or state law"
• "engaging in the trafficking of children to another State for purposes of emancipation from their lawful parents in violation of Federal or State law"
• "engaging in a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination"
• "and engaging in a pattern of violating State laws."

If the secretary determines that an employer has behaved with "substantial illegal purpose," according to the rule, the employer can either engage with the department and accept a corrective action plan or risk losing access to PSLF for its employees for 10 years.

In response to public comments, the Education Department has said, "[it] would have no basis to remove eligibility from nonprofits engaged in work related to immigrant communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, or racial justice if those organizations are following the law."

But the plaintiff cities, which sit on the U.S. Justice Department's "sanctuary jurisdictions" list, say the Trump administration has already accused them of impeding the enforcement of federal law, and that this rule "represents yet another attack on politically disfavored local governments and nonprofits that have local laws, policies, and missions that are anathemas to the Administration."

"The actions of these cities are legal," says Persis Yu, of Protect Borrowers, another organization representing the plaintiffs. What's more, she says, "whether or not these activities are legal, is not a [determination] that the secretary of education has either the right or the expertise to be making." 

The new rule is the culmination of a presidential action, issued in March, in which President Trump accused the Biden administration of abusing PSLF, and said the program "has misdirected tax dollars into activist organizations that not only fail to serve the public interest, but actually harm our national security and American values, sometimes through criminal means."

What did Congress intend when it created PSLF? 

The plaintiffs argue Congress was clear about what should qualify as "public service" when it wrote the law, and that this new rule goes against lawmakers' intent.

"The Higher Education Act defines public service jobs as including government or a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. It does not provide any discretion or wiggle room within that definition," Yu says. "Congress has said that this is who is entitled to public service loan forgiveness. The secretary doesn't have the authority to change that."

In response to public comments, the Education Department has disagreed, writing that "[it] rejects the suggestion that this rule exceeds its legal authority. The [Higher Education Act] grants the Secretary explicit power to regulate title IV programs. PSLF is a title IV program, and its proper administration requires clear, enforceable standards."

Another lawsuit was filed in tandem Monday, by a coalition of 21 state attorneys general, arguing on behalf of Democratic-leaning state governments that worry their public employees could likewise be denied loan forgiveness because of state leaders' decisions to support immigrants, promote DEI or provide gender affirming care.

The coalition of attorneys general warned in a press release that the rule would result in "widespread confusion, fear, and instability in the public workforce, forcing states to confront severe staffing shortages, higher turnover, and skyrocketing costs to maintain essential services."

According to federal data, more than 1.1 million public service workers have thus far had their federal student loan debts discharged under PSLF.

This story was updated to include comment from the U.S. Department of Education.
Copyright 2025 NPR

Inglewood officials are working on a full rewrite of the city map for the first time in nearly 40 years, laying out how they want the city to grow and change for the next two decades.

Along part of Manchester Boulevard, city planners are setting up an option for developers to rebuild rows of small storefronts with a mix of homes and commercial space. On La Brea Avenue, south of Centinela Avenue, they envision the possibility of dense housing and business blocks as high as six stories.

Jerome Johnson, an Inglewood local, said he’s lived through three decades of change in the city. He recalled watching a “raggedy market” at the corner of La Brea and Centinela make way for the two-story shopping center that’s there today. He said the potential developments around the intersection could be a catch-22.

“There’s a shortage of housing,” Johnson said. “But you don’t want it to turn into New York City.”

It’s all part of the ongoing process for Inglewood’s new general plan, the foundational guide that governs things like what kind of buildings can be built where in the city and how they need to look. A draft land-use plan will go before the Inglewood City Council on Tuesday, then go into the environmental impact review process.

“This is really a historic milestone for the city,” Bernard McCrumby, Inglewood development services director, told The LA Local. 

McCrumby said planners are aiming to open up room for new housing and to revitalize some of the city’s flagging business corridors, without changing the city’s existing residential blocks or sacrificing the grocery stores, barbershops and local restaurants that make neighborhoods tick.

“The stadiums and arenas are here, they’re not going anywhere,” McCrumby said. “Now we can plan around those.”

The last time the city did a full update of its general plan was 1987, when horses were still racing at Hollywood Park and the “Showtime” Lakers were winning championships at the Forum. Edward Vincent Jr., the city’s first Black mayor, had only been in office for four years. 

The city has made intermittent updates to its planning guidelines since then — notably remapping a band of Inglewood along the Metro K line before it opened — but city documents indicate planners spent the past couple years working on a comprehensive rewrite. 

The new update to the general plan could set the city’s direction until 2050.

Planners hope to change some of the city’s commercial corridors into mixed-use zones that allow for housing and businesses alongside each other or even stacked on top of each other.

Those zones could go in place along Century Boulevard and Arbor Vitae Street as well as Manchester, Centinela and La Brea.

The rest of the update, McCrumby said, is aimed at lining the city’s zoning regulations up with state law and the city’s current reality on the ground.

City staff held several community meetings over the last year as they put together the draft and still aren’t done gathering feedback. 

The next year will see at least one more community meeting and a 45-day public review period, according to city documents. McCrumby said that, with the anchor of the land-use map in place, planners will continue to work on the rest of the general plan, targeting final City Council approval of the plan and accompanying environmental impact report next spring.

You can get all the details on the general plan at nextlevelinglewood.com and attend the City Council meeting at 2 p.m. on Tuesday to give a public comment.

We also want to know what you think of the proposed changes. Email isaiah@thelalocal.org with your questions or thoughts.

Students within the Los Angeles Unified School District showed improvements on state reading, math and science standardized tests for a third consecutive year, district authorities announced Tuesday.

Superintendent Andrés Chait revealed the preliminary results at the annual opening-of-schools address at East L.A.’s Garfield High School— his first as the district’s leader since the board appointed him to the job in June.

“ These are not just numbers on a page,” Chait said to an audience that included about 1,000 principals, administrators and district supporters. “They are the result of your passion, your persistence, your belief in what students can achieve. These are collective accomplishments.

"They reflect the dedication, skill, and commitment of our entire community,” he said.

Jai Gant-Leau, principal of Eagle Tree Continuation High School, said the “back-to-basics” focus of Chait’s speech was a welcome departure from the tone of recent opening addresses.

“We will continue to rise for the outcomes and expectations for the success of our students. That's the message I got,” Gant-Leau said. “Very different than the others where it was a lot of… bells and whistles.”

Why it matters

Student achievement, as measured by test scores, plummeted during the pandemic. Los Angeles Unified’s growth in 2025 outpaced the state, as test scores exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

This year the percentage of students in all grades who met or exceeded the standard are 39.7% for math, 48.3% for English and 32.1% for science. It’s unclear how this compares to students statewide because those results have yet to be released.

Challenges ahead

Chait also acknowledged the challenges posed by declining enrollment, community fears of immigration enforcement actions and proposed budget cuts.

 “The decisions will be hard, but we cannot lose sight of what defines us,” Chait said. “We are the system that lifts students to opportunity, turns potential into achievement, creates spaces of belonging, healing, growth.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

We hope you’ve gotten used to the hot weather, because it’s going to be here for a while.

The National Weather Service has issued yet another heat advisory for much of Southern California, less than a week after other high-temperature warnings were lifted.

This week’s advisory will be in place from 10 a.m. Wednesday through Monday. Forecasters expect temperatures to climb steadily over the course of Wednesday and Thursday.

The San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and other inland areas in L.A., as well as Riverside and San Bernardino counties, will likely see highs ranging from the mid-90s to about 105 degrees. Areas closer to the coast, including downtown Los Angeles and much of Orange County, will hit the 90s. Beaches will hover mostly in the upper 70s.

Humidity will also add to the discomfort. Even though it’s decreasing slightly, it makes cooling down harder, especially at night.

People who work outdoors or do not have air conditioning are especially at risk from the heat and humidity, along with people over 65, young children and other sensitive populations.

Fire risk

Forecasters are warning that conditions are ripe for fires, driven by a combination of wind and dry vegetation.

Southern California hasn’t seen much rain recently, despite the humidity, leaving plants with little moisture and turning them into the perfect fuel.

“Even though the air feels kind of moist, we're in the time of season where it doesn't matter. The fuels are dry and they're ready to go,” said NWS meteorologist Ryan Kittell.

Kittel said people should take extra care with anything that could create a spark, and residents in fire-prone areas should remain aware of their surroundings in case a fire starts.

The fire risk is likely to be concentrated in a few specific areas that will experience higher winds than others, including parts of the 5 Freeway corridor in northern L.A. County, especially around the Grapevine, and in southern Santa Barbara County.

For most of the region, though, winds should stay fairly mild.

Dangerous beach conditions

Southern Californians also have to contend with some ocean-specific risks this week.

Forecasters expect dangerously large waves and strong rip currents to hit the coastline at a time when the heat may drive more people to the beach. The conditions are expected to persist through the weekend.

If you decide to head to the beach, it’s a good idea to ask a lifeguard for advice on the conditions before entering the water. It’s also recommended to swim only near occupied lifeguard stands, stay off of rock jetties and avoid turning your back to the waves.

South-facing stretches of coastline will bear the brunt of the swell, which is being driven by two tropical storms churning hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean.

“Those two systems generated the winds and the waves locally that are pushing towards us, and so that's creating elevated surf and some stronger currents than normal,” Kittel said.

The swell is not expected to cause significant coastal flooding as high tides remain relatively low.