Dozens of Democratic governors and attorneys from several states are suing the Education Department for limiting the amount of federal funds that can be given to borrowers seeking “professional” degrees. The lawsuit comes after the agency announced that the new policy will go into effect on July 1. According to the department, the policy affects borrowers studying medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy or other programs considered as “professional.”
Under the new policy, students may face a $200,000 aggregate borrowing limit while enrolled in those programs, VTDigger reported. They may also face a $257,000 lifetime limit for federal student loans.
The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of 26 Democratic-led jurisdictions, including the states of Maryland, New York, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro are also named as plaintiffs in their official capacities, joining the challenge to the Education Department’s policy. The coalition includes states represented by Democratic attorneys general, Democratic governors, or both.
What did the states argue in their lawsuit against the Education Department?
The Education Department is facing a lawsuit from the coalition, which describes the latest policy as “arbitrary and capricious” because of its vague classification of professional degrees. Opponents of the policy are also expressing concern for students who may not be able to pursue their education because of the cap, particularly those seeking careers in health care.
“Higher education is expensive, and our health care system is already under immense strain,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement, per CNBC. “This rule will shut talented people out of critical professions and leave communities with fewer health care providers they desperately need.”
What is the Education Department saying about the borrower limit?
The Education Department argues that the new policy is designed to combat rising tuition costs.
“After decades of unchecked student loan borrowing that gave schools no reason to control costs, these commonsense loan caps — created by Congress — are already incentivizing colleges and universities to lower tuition,” Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent told CNBC.
Kent also criticized the Democratic governors and attorneys general for being “more concerned about institutions’ bottom line rather than American students and families’ ability to access affordable postsecondary education.”
How will the borrower limit affect nursing?
Megan Walter, a senior policy analyst at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, told CNBC that the path forward for nursing students is “increasingly uncertain, with consequences not just for individual borrowers but for the workforce pipelines these communities depend on.”
The American Nurses Association also worries about what will happen to nursing students under the loan cap. Per CNBC, the group said it could result in fewer registered nurses.
“This rule, if implemented, will have a direct and devastating impact on health care across our country,” Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, told CNBC.