A federal judge has stepped in to block a portion of a Trump administration policy that would have capped federal student loan amounts for those pursuing advanced degrees in nursing, physical therapy, public health, and several other fields.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners, one of eight organizations that brought the lawsuit, called the ruling a significant victory. In a Facebook post Thursday, the group described it as “an important step for NP students, the future health care workforce and the patients who depend on them.”
The dispute centers on new federal student loan limits included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which were scheduled to go into effect in July. Under the old rules, graduate students could borrow up to the full cost of their program. The new policy changed that, placing a $100,000 ceiling on loans for programs classified as “graduate” degrees and a $200,000 ceiling for those labeled “professional” degrees.
The Education Department designated the following fields as professional programs: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, and theology. That left out nursing practitioners, therapists, public health workers, speech language pathologists, physician assistants, and others — the very groups represented by the eight organizations that filed suit.
Those groups argued that students in the excluded fields would be forced to either abandon their education or take on costly private loans to make up the difference.
Late Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell put the Education Department’s revised “professional degree” definition on hold. She found that the agency had overstepped by adding “more stringent requirements” to the definition — including a requirement that professional degree holders “must work free from another professional’s supervision.”
Judge Howell concluded that Congress had not granted the Education Department the power to make those changes. She also raised concerns about the broader impact, warning that limiting educational opportunities could be “detrimental to the public, particularly in underserved communities that may face a shortage of healthcare and other critical professional services.”
Importantly, the ruling does not eliminate the loan caps themselves — it only blocks the updated definition of what qualifies as a professional degree.
The Education Department responded with a written statement saying it is “reviewing the order and will take appropriate action.” The agency had previously defended the caps, claiming they were already pushing colleges and universities to reduce tuition costs.
A separate lawsuit filed by a coalition of Democratic-led states, which takes aim at the loan caps more broadly, is still working its way through the courts.
