A group of Democratic governors and state attorneys general on Tuesday sued Education Secretary Linda McMahon, saying she exceeded her authority and overstepped guardrails set by Congress by refusing to classify nursing as a professional degree, a move will result in tighter limits on federal loans for graduate students.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, also challenges the Education Department’s attempt to exempt current students from the new caps. The attorneys general said the department’s decision to exclude students from the grandfathering provision if they transfer schools or withdraw and re-enroll was “contrary to the statute and arbitrary and capricious.”
Ms. McMahon has faced intense scrutiny over the nursing issue since last year, when her department began implementing a sprawling domestic policy law that included new caps on federal loans for graduate students.
Supporters of the loan caps said the changes will persuade universities to cut the cost of postsecondary education. Opponents argue the caps are more likely to force students to seek private loans, or dissuade them from seeking advanced degrees.
“This rule will shut talented people out of critical professions and leave communities with fewer health care providers they desperately need,” Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, said in a statement.
Nicholas Kent, the under secretary of education, said the lawsuit from 25 states and the District of Columbia showed Democratic governor and attorneys general “are more concerned about institutions’ bottom-line rather than American students and families’ ability to access affordable postsecondary education.”
According to the lawsuit, an entry-level Master of Science in nursing degree costs $77,155 per year, nearly four times more than the federal cap of $20,500.
The Education Department has said the nonprofessional degree cap exceeded what 95 percent of nursing students borrow, meaning they would not be affected by the new limits.
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