Let me speak on this as a Black woman who worked hard for her Master’s degree in Education. I’ve been in these classrooms. I’ve sat in those IEP, ARD, and PLC meetings where we fight to get our students the help they need.
I’ve been reading about what the Department of Education is planning for 2026 and they are trying to pull a fast one. They are changing the rules on who gets to borrow money for school, and it’s going to hurt the people who need help the most.
Here is the plain truth about what’s going on.
1. They Downgraded the Important Jobs
For a long time, degrees like Nursing, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Teaching were respected as “Professional Degrees.” That meant the government knew these schooling programs were expensive, so they let you borrow the money you needed to finish.
Now? They are taking that title away.
They are saying that being a Nurse, a Physician Assistant, or a Therapist is just a regular “Graduate Degree.” They are keeping the “Professional” title for doctors, dentists, and lawyers. Basically, they are saying our work—the work of caring, teaching, and healing—isn’t in the same league. And that is a lie.
2. What Does This Mean for Your Pockets? (The Loans)
Let me break the money part down so it makes sense.
How it used to work: If you wanted to go to school to be a Nurse Practitioner or an Occupational Therapist, and the school cost $60,000 a year, the government would basically say, “Okay, we got you. Here is a loan for the full amount.”
How it’s gonna work now: Under these new rules, the government is saying, “We are capping you.” They might only let you borrow about $20,500 a year.
Now, you do the math. If school costs $60,000, and they only lend you $20,000, where are you supposed to get that other $40,000?
I’ll tell you what happens:
- You have to go to a private bank (and get charged crazy interest).
- Take out a private loan and be even more in debt.
- Or, you just don’t go to school.
This means only rich people—people who have $40,000 sitting around in their daddy’s bank account—will be able to become nurses or therapists. It pushes us out.
And just thinking at random…
3. What Happens to the Special Needs Kids?
There are kids who have trouble walking, students who can’t hold a pencil because of their motor skills, or can’t speak clearly. They rely on:
- Occupational Therapists (OT) to help them learn to write and button their shirts.
- Physical Therapists (PT) to help them move without pain.
- Speech Pathologists to help them talk.
If regular folks can’t afford to go to school to get these degrees because the loans don’t cover it, who is going to be there to do the therapy?
We are already short on staff. If you make it too expensive to become a therapist, there won’t be any therapists left. And when there are no therapists, who suffers? The kids. Specifically, Black and Brown kids in underfunded schools. Our babies will be sitting on a waiting list for services they never get.
4. Who Will Take Care of Grandma?
It ain’t just the kids. If you have an elderly parent who has a stroke, they need PT and OT to learn how to walk and eat again.
If the Department of Education makes it impossible for regular people to afford these degrees, we won’t have enough people to help our elders recover. It’s a ripple effect. You hurt the students, you hurt the patients over time.
The Bottom Line
They are trying to save money. They are cutting the credit limit for the people who do the actual work of caring for society. They are telling us this. Unless you are becoming a rich doctor or lawyer, they aren’t going to front the bill for your education.
If you are considering returning to school for Nursing, Education, or Therapy, you should examine those numbers now. And we need to be loud about this, because our community cannot afford to lose any more of our essential people in the Human Business.
Here are a few direct links to sources and news reports covering these changes (as of November 2025), broken down by what they explain.
News & Breakdowns (Best for General Understanding)
- Nurse.org:Nursing Excluded as ‘Professional’ Degree By Department of Education
- Why read this: A clear breakdown of how the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) removes Nursing from the professional list and what the new loan caps ($20,500) look like compared to the old ones.
- KENS5 News:Nursing programs excluded from ‘professional degree’ status under new federal loan rules
- Why read this: A good summary of the specific list of 11 degrees that kept the status (like Chiropractors and Veterinarians) versus those that lost it.
Official Statements from Professional Associations
- American Nurses Association (ANA):Statement on Proposed Federal Loan Policy Changes
- Why read this: This is the official “fight back” letter. It details how this hurts rural healthcare and urges nurses to contact legislators.
- American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA):Federal student loan limits: Where we stand and what comes next for OT
- Why read this: A specific look at how this affects Occupational Therapists (OTs) and the “coalition” of 50 organizations trying to stop it.
- American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA):Proposed Definition of “Professional Degree” Programs Would Exclude Audiology
- Why read this: Covers the impact on Speech Pathologists and Audiologists, noting that they were left off the list despite being doctoral-level professions in many cases.
The “Fine Print” (Financial Details)
- NASFAA (Financial Aid Administrators):Making Sense of the Student Loan Changes from OBBBA’s RISE Committee
- Why read this: This is the technical explanation from the financial aid experts. It explains the “HEAL” list (Health Education Assistance Loan) history and why the Department of Education is using such an old definition of “professional.”
