# 119-hr-6739: Clarity in Professional Degree Act

119-hr-6739, Clarity in Professional Degree Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6739
- As of: 2026-09-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6739
- Congress: 119
- Title: Clarity in Professional Degree Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-12-16
- Sponsor: Rep. Dingell, Debbie [D-MI-6] (D-MI)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-12

## 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. - 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.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Soto, Darren [D-FL-9] (D-FL), 2026-09-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Adds more professional degrees for students: benefit, low. 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.);…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights to protect and codify the rights of transgender…

## Sources
- [119-hr-6739 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6739)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hres-1058: Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implem…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hres-1058)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6739 (as of 2026-09-12).