Nursing Groups Sue Over ED’s Graduate Loan Definition, Saying Key Programs Are Still Excluded

A coalition of advanced nurses, public health workers, teachers, and therapists filed an amended federal lawsuit on August 4, 2026 arguing that the Education Department’s updated list of graduate programs qualifying as “professional” (and therefore eligible for higher federal loan caps under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act) still falls short of what Congress intended and unlawfully excludes programs that prepare students for critical professions. Inside Higher Ed reports that the coalition originally sued in May after the Department’s initial regulatory definition deemed only 11 programs as professional; a federal judge halted that definition in late June, and the Department subsequently released a revised list recognizing 29 programs. But the plaintiffs argue that even the expanded list leaves out certain Doctor of Nursing Practice and Master of Science in Nursing degrees, a Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing, and numerous other advanced specialties because of how the department applied classification codes to designate eligible fields. Similar complaints have been raised separately by social work and education advocacy groups not party to the lawsuit, underscoring how broadly the department’s professional degree definitions are seen as falling short of Congressional intent.