Perkins loan cancellation for teachers - denied for procedural thing... illegally?

I took out Perkins loans as an undergraduate and graduate student under the impression that I would be able to participate in the loan cancellation program for teachers who work in designated low-income schools.

I was careful to NOT consolidate these Perkins loans for the very reason that they would be elegible for cancellation. I was under the impression that at the END of my first year of teaching in a qualified school, I could apply for the first round of cancellations (15% for the 1st year of teaching.) Now, one of my schools told me that I was supposed to DEFER my loans during that entire first year of teaching, and then apply for the cancellation of those months that I defered. The deferment months MUST correspond to the months that I was teaching. Essentially they're telling me now that my first year of teaching won't count for cancellation. I'm afraid to bring this up with my other school, since the answer may be the same. First I want to hear the facts from an outsider. Has anyone heard about this?

On the website for the federal government, it says NOTHING of this complicated procedure.

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/cancelperk.jsp?tab=repaying

Does anyone know about this? Can someone put me in contact with a lawyer if you think this may be a violation of the federal act?

Do you have to apply through your school? -- I say, go straight to the feds and ask for the cancellation. I recall once, calling about a misapplied payment, the Feds actually asked me if I was a teacher in a designated area. (I'm not, sadly.) So, I imagine they have procedures in place to deal with it directly.

Yes, according to the website for the Perkins Loan program, you do have to apply through the school. This rule may be arbitrary for my particular university, but I'm not sure. I'm trying to figure it out.

I would like to know what number you called to speak "straight to the feds". Can you please post this number online? Thanks.

It's the general customer service number for Direct Loan, which is the Fed-version of consolidation.

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/DirectLoan/index.html