California Attorney General Rob Bonta this week joined attorneys general from 24 states — along with the governors of Kansas and Kentucky — in opposing a Trump administration proposal that would limit federal student loan access for graduate-level health professionals, including nurses.
In a March 2 letter to the U.S. Department of Education, the coalition urged federal officials to abandon a proposed rule redefining what qualifies as a “professional degree” under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The change would exclude postbaccalaureate degrees in nursing, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, and other health professions from higher federal borrowing limits.
The attorneys general called the proposal “unlawful, unnecessarily restrictive, and harmful to States.”
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed last year, students categorized as “graduate” rather than “professional” are capped at $20,500 annually and $100,000 in total federal loans. By contrast, students in programs such as medicine and law may borrow up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 in aggregate.
As previously reported by the Independent in December, the reclassification stunned members of the Santa Barbara nursing community. “They’re saying we’re not professional enough. That’s the message,” operating room nurse Sandy Reding said at the time.
In their letter, state officials argued that advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants play a critical role in filling projected physician shortages, particularly in rural and underserved communities. “Interruptions in the supply of postbaccalaureate health professionals would have a disruptive impact on healthcare access in rural communities for years to come,” the coalition wrote.
Bonta previously called the proposal “arbitrary and illegal,” warning it would “drastically reduce the ability of patients to access adequate medical care.”
Public comment on the proposed rule has now concluded. The American Nurses Association also submitted formal comments urging the Department of Education to recognize graduate nursing degrees as professional degrees and warning that excluding them would “jeopardize workforce sustainability” and limit access to care.
