Reimagining and Improving Student Education
Built by the Tribune's code from the Federal Register. No AI wrote this page. Published in the Federal Register Jan. 30, 2026. Document 2026-01912. Updated Nov. 15, 2026.
- What it does
The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations for the Federal student loan programs authorized under title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended (the title IV, HEA programs) to implement the statutory changes to the title IV, HEA programs included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. These changes include establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents, and phasing out the Graduate PLUS Program. The Department notes that the term "professional student" as used in this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is intended solely to distinguish those programs that we propose would be eligible for higher loan limits, as required by the OBBB. The designation, or lack thereof, of a program as "professional" does not reflect a value judgment by the Department regarding whether a borrower graduating from the program is considered a "professional." This NPRM only interprets the phrase "professional student" as used in the context of the loan limits established by the OBBB. The OBBB also simplifies the current broken and confusing myriad of Federal student loan repayment plans by phasing out the existing Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans, creating a new tiered standard repayment plan option, and implementing a new income-driven repayment plan known as the Repayment Assistant Plan. The OBBB also enables borrowers in default who have previously rehabilitated a defaulted loan a second chance to rehabilitate their loan(s) and resume repayment.
The Education Department's summary, as published in the Federal Register.
- What it would change
3 parts of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations:
- Before this
No earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1840-AD98 since Jan. 1, 2025.
Since then:
- What happens next and when
We must receive your comments on or before March 2, 2026.
The agency's dates, word for word.
The record as published
| Document number | 2026-01912 |
|---|---|
| Action | Notice of proposed rulemaking. |
| Agencies | Education Department |
| Published | Jan. 30, 2026 |
| Comments close | March 2, 2026 |
| Regulation identifier (RIN) | 1840-AD98 |
| Docket | ED-2025-OPE-0944 |
Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register