Department of Education publishes final student loan rule

The final rule implementing changes made by P.L. 119-21, more commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), to federal student loan limits for graduate education was published by the Department of Education (ED) on May 1st. AOTA has been monitoring this rule closely. The final rule maintained the proposed definition of professional programs, those programs eligible for the higher annual and lifetime caps of $50,000 and $200,00 respectively, to a list of just 11 professions, and did not include occupational therapy. This means future occupational therapy students will only have access up to $20,500 per year and $100,000 total in federal graduate student loans.

Unfortunately, the final rule contained very few changes, including no changes to the sections related to the professional program definition for the purposes of annual and lifetime graduate student loan limits, despite 1,000 comments submitted by occupational therapy practitioners and education programs on the proposed rule.

While this outcome is incredibly disappointing, it is important to underscore this rule does not alter the scope of occupational therapy practice, the qualifications required to enter the profession, or the critical role occupational therapy practitioners play across health care, education, and community-based settings. The demand for occupational therapy services remains strong, and the value of the profession is unchanged.

While AOTA hoped for changes to the final rule, we expected this outcome, and are continuing to actively engage on this issue. AOTA has been advocating to classify OT as a professional program, and to maintain access to funding for graduate education, since before OBBBA was signed into law. Over 11,000 advocates contacted their Members of Congress to urge them to support the OT workforce by maintaining access to graduate education. Additionally, AOTA founded a national coalition of 30 national organizations, that is now managed by a firm with expertise in higher education advocacy.

These efforts led to the introduction of multiple bills in Congress, including H.R. 6574, the Loan Equity for Advanced Professionals (LEAP) Act, introduced by Representative Tim Kennedy (D-NY), the first and only occupational therapy practitioner in Congress.

While this final rule is not the outcome we advocated for, however it represents one step in a longer advocacy journey. While neither AOTA nor ACOTE have control over the cost of occupational therapy programs, we will never stop advocating for higher education policy that will increase access to OT education for all who wish to pursue it as a career. AOTA will continue to advocate to policy makers, work with coalition partners, and help those in the entire occupational therapy community to make their voices heard.

Please take action through our legislative action center.

You can even set up meeting with your Members of Congress and their staff using our Everyday Advocacy toolkit.