Clarity in Professional Degree Act
Sponsored By: Representative Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
Introduced
Summary
Protects students' access to federal Title IV student aid by clarifying that many health, education, and other graduate programs are "professional degrees." This bill would change the Higher Education Act's definition so a specific set of degrees are explicitly treated as professional degrees for federal aid purposes.
Show full summary
- Students and people with disabilities: Students in the named programs would be explicitly included under the "professional degree" definition for Title IV federal student aid. The bill responds to findings that a department reclassification could otherwise threaten aid for these students.
- Health, education, and public service workforce: By naming nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, public health, and several teaching and language degrees, the bill aims to prevent worsening shortages in fields the findings call foundational to keeping the nation safe, educated, and healthy.
- Law change and scope: The bill would remove a regulatory cross reference and add ten named degrees to the statute, including nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, accounting, architecture, special and secondary education, music education, world languages, and public health.
Your PRIA Score
Personalized for You
How does this bill affect your finances?
Sign up for a PRIA Policy Scan to see your personalized alignment score for this bill and every other piece of legislation we track. We analyze your financial profile against policy provisions to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Adds more professional degrees for students
If enacted, this bill would add several specific degrees to the federal legal definition of "professional degree." The change would take effect upon enactment. The listed degrees are: Nursing (A.D.N., R.N., or B.S.N.); Occupational Therapy (M.O.T.); Physical Therapy (D.P.T.); Social Work (M.S.W.); Accounting (MAcc); Architecture (M.Arch.); Special and Secondary Education (M.Ed., M.S.Ed., or M.A.T.); Music Education (M.S. or M.M.E.); World Languages (M.Ed.); and Public Health (M.P.H.). This would change how students in those programs are classified under federal higher education rules and could affect their treatment for Title IV federal student aid if the Department of Education applies the revised definition.
Free Policy Watch
You just read the policy. Now see what it costs you.
Pick a topic. PRIA runs your household against live legislation and sends you a free personalized readout.
Pick a topic to get started
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6]
MI • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.govTake It Personal
Get Your Personalized Policy View
Take the PRIA Score to see how policy affects your household, then upgrade to PRIA Full Coverage for year-round monitoring.
Already have an account? Sign in