How Challengers Are Trying to Block ED’s New Loan Limits
Jessica Blake
June 1, 2026
The definition of what qualifies as a professional degree program is at the heart of the two complaints filed so far. One set of plaintiffs is urging the court to hold a hearing this month.
Two lawsuits, filed, respectively, by a swath of Democratic state attorneys general and professional associations, will take center stage this summer as federal district courts weigh the legality of the Education Department’s plan to limit postbaccalaureate student loans.
The regulations facing scrutiny stem from a section of Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that caps the amount graduate and professional students can borrow from the federal government; if they take effect, the regulations would define which degree programs fall into which category and what level of aid they receive. As of now, only students pursuing one of 11 qualifying degrees would count as professional, allowing them to borrow up to $200,000. All other graduate students would be capped at $20,500 per year or $100,000 total.
