This bill would expand federal student loan protections to nursing degree holders by formally recognizing nursing as a professional degree under the Higher Education Act. Currently, nursing master's degrees (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and related doctoral nursing degrees are not explicitly listed in federal law as professional degrees, which affects borrowers' eligibility for certain loan repayment programs and forgiveness options. The legislation adds nursing degrees to the existing list of recognized professional degrees that already includes medicine, law, pharmacy, dentistry, and other fields requiring professional licensure. The bill would affect nursing students and graduates seeking federal student loan benefits and contains no specific funding or implementation timeline beyond amending existing regulatory definitions. This change would bring nursing degrees into parity with other advanced healthcare professions for purposes of federal higher education law.
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