A federal judge has temporarily blocked a Trump administration rule that would have severely limited how much certain graduate students can borrow to finance their education.
In the new rule, the Department of Education left nursing, teaching, social work, accounting, and other professions off a list of 11 fields that it said meet the requirements of “professional” degrees.
The rule was set to take effect on July 1.
On Wednesday, Judge Beryl Howell, U.S. district judge for the District of Columbia, pushed back. She ruled that the change likely violated the Administrative Procedures Act, and that the administration didn’t have the authority to narrow the definition of what constitutes a “professional” degree.
“By adopting the preexisting definition as it was in effect on a specific date, Congress removed any discretionary authority the Department may have had to narrow the definition for the purpose of determining federal loan caps,” Howell wrote in the ruling.
Workers’ advocates fought the changes
The judge’s decision comes after six associations, representing advanced practice nursing, therapy, public health, and education, filed lawsuits over the Trump caps, arguing that they would limit access to funding—which a huge portion of future nurses rely on when maintaining their degrees.
The borrowing limits for “professional” degrees are set at $50,000 annually or $200,000 total. Those seeking other graduate degrees are capped at $20,500 annually or $100,000 total.
Proponents of the rule said it will help bring down student debt, and the cost of graduate programs overall, as it will encourage institutions to bring down education costs.
Nurses, social workers, and educators who were left off the administration’s list viewed the change differently.
“Despite broad recognition of the complexity, rigor, and necessity of postbaccalaureate nursing education, the Department’s proposal defines professional programs so narrowly that nursing, the nation’s largest healthcare profession, remains excluded,” the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said in a press release last November.
“Should this proposal be finalized, the impact on our already-challenged nursing workforce would be devastating,” the group added.
Late last year, Bassey Etim-Edet, a high-risk labor and delivery nurse who was on the front lines of care during the COVID-19 pandemic, told Fast Company that her career wouldn’t have been possible without taking out $150,000 in student loans.
“To go from ‘healthcare hero’ to not being recognized as a professional is such a backhanded slap,” Etim-Edet said.
She continued, “We are disrespected, underpaid, and underresourced. Still, we serve.”
What happens now?
While Judge Howell’s action paused the new rule with regard to the definition of a “professional” degree, it doesn’t dictate whether the administration can set caps on student loans.
Reached for comment, an Education Department spokesperson told Fast Company that the agency “is reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.”
The spokesperson continued, “Additionally, we look forward to implementing the RISE [Reimagining and Improving Student Education] student loan provisions and offering new, affordable repayment plans on July 1.”
For now, the groups that launched lawsuits are celebrating the decision.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners wrote that the judge’s ruling is “an important step for NP students, the future health care workforce and the patients who depend on them.”