Urge your members of Congress to reject the Department of Education’s Final Rule on Student Loan Limits

Despite the overwhelming number of comments to the Department of Education in response to the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) proposed rule, the recently finalized rule maintains their list of professional programs for the purposes of student loan limits. 

Starting July 1, 2026, social work students will have lower federal student loan limits than degrees that the Department considers professional to include Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.), and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).

The annual loan limits for social work students will be $20,500 with an aggregate limit of $100,000, whereas the limits for students in “professional” degree programs will be $50,000 annually and $200,000 aggregate.

NASW submitted comments to the Department of Education in response to the RISE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. NASW argued that social work should be considered a professional degree for the purposes of student loan limits. 

Now is the time to contact your members of Congress. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (OR-1-D), John Mannion (NY-22-D), and Lauren Underwood (IL-14-D) are introducing a Congressional Review Act that disapproves of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to the Reimagining and Improving Student Education – Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulation and proclaim that such rule shall have no force or effect.

Contact your Representative TODAY and urge them to join Reps. Bonamici, Mannion, and Underwood in the Congressional Review Act. Personalized communication goes a long way with a member of Congress, so please edit the draft email that we have provided.