Nursing is a Professional Degree Act (HR8691)
Current understanding
HR8691 (119th Congress) would formally designate nursing as a professional degree for purposes of federal higher-education classification. The bill has been introduced and referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce; no committee action has been reported. If enacted, the reclassification could affect how nursing programs and their students are treated under federal financial aid, loan limits, and institutional reporting frameworks.
Evidence log
- 2026-05-07 — Nursing is a Professional Degree Act: cross-connection with professional-degree-access-restoration-act: Both bills concern the federal classification of ‘professional degrees’ and its implications for student loan access; reclassifying nursing would expand the population affected by any professional-degree loan rules. (novelty: 3)