States sue over new student loan limits on certain nursing and healthcare degrees

Education States sue over new student loan limits on certain nursing and healthcare degrees May 19, 202612:19 PM ET Cory Turner A nurse checks a patient's blood pressure. kieferpix/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption kieferpix/Getty Images A coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit in federal court Tuesday challenging a Trump administration rule that limits access to federal student loans for borrowers earning a graduate degree in several popular, healthcare-related fields. "Higher education is expensive, and our health care system is already under immense strain," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. "This rule will shut talented people out of critical professions and leave communities with fewer health care providers they desperately need." At issue is a pair of complex changes that, taken together, drew the ire of the American Nurses Association and triggered Tuesday's lawsuit. Sponsor Message First, Republicans passed new limits on graduate student loans as part of last year's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The law does not change limits for undergraduate borrowers, including those attending undergraduate nursing programs, but it dramatically scales back how much graduate students can borrow. Previously, grad students could borrow up to the cost of their program, but the new limits cap annual borrowing for most at $20,500 with a total limit of $100,000. Education What borrowers should know about student loan changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill These limits are legal, if controversial. Arizona, California, North Carolina, Kentucky and Nevada are among the states that joined the lawsuit, which focuses on a rule that essentially outlines an exemption to the limits. In implementing the changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Trump administration has scaled back the types of graduate degrees that qualify as "professional" and for which students can borrow up to $50,000 a year and $200,000 overall. It is li...