Education groups have raised alarms about a proposed regulation that would exclude education from a list of “professional” graduate degrees and limit federal loans for students studying to become teachers and administrators.
Those changes, and new limits on borrowing for part-time graduate students, could create financial challenges for professionals obtaining advanced education degrees, in turn exacerbating shortages of special education teachers, principals, and district administrators, according to public comments on the proposal.
The U.S. Department of Education received 80,758 comments on the proposed regulation by its March 2 deadline.
Here’s what to know about the proposal and what comes next.
Why the Education Department is defining “professional” degrees
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Donald Trump’s signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts that he signed into law in July 2025, imposed new limits on federal lending for graduate student education.
Starting in July, graduate students pursuing “professional degrees” may borrow up to $50,000 annually or $200,000 total, while students in fields not defined as “professional” will face lower loan caps: $20,500 annually or $100,000 total.
Additionally, the Education Department’s new regulation to implement that portion of the law would prorate part-time graduate students’ borrowing limit according to their courseload. For example, half-time student could borrow half as much as a full-time student.
The new law’s “common-sense limits” on graduate student borrowing “will help drive down the cost of graduate programs and reduce the debt students have to take out,” the Education Department said in a November press release.
The law defines “professional” degrees as those that signify both “completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree.” It includes examples of professional fields, such as pharmacy and theology.
Why the Education Department says education isn’t a “professional” field
The law does not include a prescriptive list of professional degrees, leaving it to the Education Department to more clearly define that term through its rulemaking process. The proposed regulation limits professional degrees to 11 fields: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology, and clinical psychology.
“While several states require teachers to ultimately obtain a master’s degree to maintain their license, no state requires an M.Ed. (or similar master’s degree) to begin work as a teacher,” the proposed regulation said. “Likewise, while an Ed.D. may offer the possibility of career advancement to the degree holder, the degree is not in any way required for entrance into a specific profession or a prerequisite for licensure in a field.”
Advocates for fields not included in the list, including nursing and education, have said their exclusion will contribute to a lack of respect for their professions. Teachers have long argued they aren’t viewed or compensated as skilled professionals.
The Education Department pushed back, arguing the list is only intended to bring clarity in applying the law.
“The designation, or lack thereof, of a program as ‘professional’ does not reflect a value judgment by the Department regarding whether a borrower graduating from the program is considered a ‘professional,’” the regulation said.
Why educators are concerned about new student loan limits.
Limits on graduate loans for education students could create a big leak in the teacher pipeline, education groups said. That’s especially true for teacher candidates completing non-traditional preparation programs that come with master’s degrees.
Graduate degrees are also required to become a principal or a superintendent, wrote a coalition of 14 education organizations led by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. And, while prior teaching experience is an asset, it is not always a formal requirement for those roles.
If education students cannot fully finance their graduation education through federal loans, they may be forced to rely on private loans that are ineligible for public service loan forgiveness programs, the coalition wrote.
“If education is not included in the professional student category, we can expect reduced enrollment in education graduate programs, higher drop-out rates when students do enroll, and increased shortages in key education occupations,” the letter said.
In the 2019-20 school year, half of education graduate students attended part-time, according to the most recent federal data. Forty-seven percent of half-time education master’s students borrowed an average of $12,000 a year, which would exceed the limits in the regulation, an AACTE analysis of the data found.
Failing to deem education a “professional” degree “will restrict entry into a critical public-serving profession, intensify educator shortages, weaken school leadership pipelines, and ultimately undermine educational opportunity for students across the United States,” said a public comment from leaders of the University of Pittsburgh college of education, which enrolls about 500 graduate students.
What comes next?
The Education Department will review comments on the proposal before issuing a final rule, which may go into effect as early as July 1.
