Reimagining and Improving Student Education-Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations

What it does

The Secretary amends 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 Public Law 119-21, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The Department previously referred to the Working Families Tax Cuts Act as the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," including in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published on January 30, 2026. These changes include establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents, and phasing out the Graduate PLUS (Grad PLUS) Program. The Working Families Tax Cuts Act 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 establishing a new income-driven repayment plan known as the Repayment Assistance Plan. The Working Families Tax Cuts Act 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 changed in the regulation

3 parts of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations:

34 CFR 674, 34 CFR 682, 34 CFR 685

Wording on eCFR: the day before it took effect and from the day it took effect (first part listed).

Compared with

The Education Department has published 16 final rules in 2026 so far, compared with 13 in all of 2025.

Counted by the Tribune from Federal Register records since Jan. 1, 2025.

Before this

1 earlier Federal Register document under regulation identifier 1840-AD98 since Jan. 1, 2025.

• Jan. 30, 2026 Notice of proposed rulemaking. Reimagining and Improving Student Education

What happens next and when

This final rule is effective on July 1, 2026.

The agency's dates, word for word.

Check it yourself

• The document in the Federal Register
• Docket ED-2025-OPE-0944 on Regulations.gov
• Title 34 on eCFR

The record as published

Source: the Federal Register (public domain). The document in the Federal Register