Now what? Department of Education releases draft graduate loan rule

The Department of Education (ED) has released its draft rule defining which graduate programs qualify as professional programs for purposes of federal student loan limits. As expected, occupational therapy was not included in the proposed definition. While disappointing, this outcome reflects signals seen throughout negotiated rulemaking committee process and reinforces the need for continued advocacy to protect student access to the critical financial aid many need to enter the profession.

From the earliest stages of this process, AOTA has played a leading role educating federal policy makers on how a narrow definition of professional programs would worsen workforce shortages and keep students from the educational pathways needed for entry into essential health fields. AOTA’s message has remained consistent. Federal policy should strengthen workforce pipelines, not create barriers for students pursuing essential healthcare careers such as occupational therapy.

The release of the draft rule begins the next phase of the advocacy campaign. ED must finalize this proposed rule, and in the coming weeks, AOTA will be providing instructions on how to submit comments. Your comments will matter, as federal agencies are supposed to take public comments into account when finalizing proposed rules. Another way to change this policy is to convince Congress to either change previous bill language, or for them to weigh in with ED that it should be adopting a broader definition of “professional program”. For now, we need your help urging Congress to address this issue any way they can.

AOTA’s Legislative Action Center makes it easy for OT practitioners and non-practitioners alike to contact their Members of Congress.

You can do two things right now to make your voice heard.

• Take action and share this alert with your fellow OT practitioners.
• Share this alert with your friends and family and urge them to act.

It is important for practitioners, students, and educators to share their perspectives and experiences. Policymakers need to hear directly from the occupational therapy community about how these decisions affect students and the people they will ultimately serve.