The U.S. Department of Education violated the law when it set a definition of “professional” graduate degree that excluded education and several other fields, a federal judge has ruled.
The Wednesday ruling from Judge Beryl Howell came in response to lawsuits from professional health care organizations and the National Education Association that challenged the agency’s May regulation limiting the definition of “professional” degrees to just 11 mostly doctoral-level degrees.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed last summer imposed new caps on how much graduate students can borrow in federal student loans, in a move proponents have said will drive down graduate program costs and reduce student debt.
But those borrowing limits are higher for degrees deemed “professional” ($50,000 annually or $200,000 total) than for other graduate degrees ($20,500 annually or $100,000 total).
Congress didn’t define a “professional” degree on its own when it wrote the law; instead it referred to a regulatory definition dating back to 2007 that mentioned 10 degrees—including for pharmacy, dentistry, podiatry, theology, and law—as examples of those that could qualify but didn’t include an exhaustive list.
When the Education Department developed regulations this year to implement the new borrowing caps, though, it limited the definition of professional degree to include 11 degrees, excluding fields such as education and nursing.
The department said education didn’t qualify because entry-level teaching positions only require a bachelor’s degree. But educators and others pointed out in comments on the department’s regulations that several K-12 positions, such as administrative and counselor roles, require graduate degrees. Without the ability to borrow to cover the full cost of advanced degrees, many argued, educators will either have to resort to private lenders or not pursue graduate degrees in needed fields at all.
According to Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama, the Education Department didn’t have the authority to narrow the definition to those 11 degrees.
“Congress did not direct the Department to evaluate and update the regulatory definition ... with any new eligibility criteria, let alone five material changes to the statutorily adopted regulatory definition,” she wrote in a 52-page opinion. “In fact, Congress did the opposite.”
In addition to the two lawsuits in which Howell ruled, the professional degree definition has drawn at least two other legal challenges—one from a coalition of Democratic-led states and another from a group of health care organizations led by the American Nurses Association.
Whether education fields join the ‘professional’ degree ranks is uncertain
The organizations leading the legal challenge in which Howell ruled hailed her order as a victory for those seeking advanced degrees in education, nursing, public health, and other fields.
“Cutting access to federal student loans for aspiring professionals in the education field is reckless and deeply harmful, especially when students are already feeling the impact of educator shortages in communities across the country,” NEA President Becky Pringle said in a statement.
But what happens next is uncertain.
Howell set aside the Education Department’s new definition of professional degree and told the agency to use the old definition to effectively develop a new list of degrees that qualify for the higher borrowing cap. Whether that new list includes education degrees remains to be seen.
An Education Department spokesperson said the agency “is reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.
“Additionally, we look forward to implementing the RISE student loan provisions and offering new, affordable repayment plans on July 1,” the spokesperson said, referring to the new borrowing limits.
Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, the president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, said in a statement that she’s hopeful education professions—including principals, school counselors, and supervisory special education positions—will eventually become part of the professional degree definition.
“Given the significant shortages across multiple professional roles in education, and the lower salaries that educators can expect compared to other professionals, it is essential that those pursuing these careers have access to the most affordable forms of credit available,” she said in a statement.
What AACTE is most concerned about is a provision in the law that limits borrowing even more for part-time students—to a prorated amount of the limits set in law—as many pursuing advanced education degrees are working educators. But the professional degree designation would give part-time graduate education students more breathing room, said Jacqueline King, a consultant with the association.
Another complication is that these regulatory changes are playing out weeks before the fall semester, after most universities have set their financial aid packages, King said. Normally, federal regulations affecting student aid have to be set by Nov. 1 before taking effect July 1 of the following year.
The Education Department, however, finalized its rule defining professional degrees on May 1. Now, July 1 is less than a week away.
