WEEKLY UPDATE: 05/21/26
This week, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education over a new rule that limits access to federal student loans for students pursuing post-graduate programs, including many healthcare, social service, and other critical workforce fields.
The coalition has raised concerns that the rule could harm states by reducing support for public institutions of higher education, creating barriers for students pursuing advanced training, and worsening workforce shortages in critical professions. The complaint notes that these impacts could be particularly significant in fields such as healthcare, where states already face ongoing workforce challenges. The lawsuit also challenges provisions that limit protections for students already enrolled in programs. The statute includes a grandfathering provision that delays implementation of the loan caps for currently enrolled students. Under the rule, however, some students who transfer institutions or temporarily withdraw and later return to their programs could lose eligibility for grandfathering, creating additional financial barriers.
The regulation, which goes into effect on July 1, defines the terms “professional student” and “graduate student” to determine federal student loan amounts based on the type of program in which a student is enrolled. Professional students are defined as individuals enrolled in one of only 11 designated professional degree programs: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology, and clinical psychology.
The policy caps loans for new borrowers at $50,000 per year for professional students ($200,000 aggregate limit) and only $20,500 for graduate students ($100,000 aggregate limit). This means students pursuing master’s, doctorate, and other advanced degrees in, for example, nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, public health, social work, rehabilitation services, and pediatric care — all deemed graduate programs — are limited to borrowing $20,500 a year and up to $100,000 to complete the program.
The coalition that filed the lawsuit comprises attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin, as well as the governors of Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
