District court stays implementation of portion of DOE final rule defining ‘professional student’

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia yesterday ruled to stay implementation of the portion of the Department of Education's final rule defining "professional student" for determining federal student loan amounts under new statutory borrowing limits. The AHA in February expressed concerns about certain healthcare professions being excluded by the "professional student" definition, such as nursing, social work, physician assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy.

Judge Beryl A. Howell observed in yesterday's opinion that, among other potential harms, "[t]he loss of educational and vocational opportunities for prospective professional students is also detrimental to the public, particularly in underserved communities that may face a shortage of healthcare and other critical professional services."