Republicans in Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and now its consequences are putting essential careers out of reach for working people. By cutting access to federal student loans for graduate programs, this law is making it harder for working people to enter and stay in professional careers that our communities depend on.
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Don’t deprofessionalize our jobs! Respect those who teach and heal our students and our communities.
The law makes it harder for working people to become educators, nurses, social workers and other essential professionals. These careers require advanced degrees, training and licensure. But this law—and how the Department of Education is interpreting the law—treats them as if they do not deserve the same investment as other professions that require education after college.
This is about more than student loans. It is about who gets to enter these professions and who gets shut out. When access to education is restricted, fewer people can afford to become educators, healthcare providers and public service professionals. That means fewer teachers in our classrooms, fewer caregivers in our hospitals and fewer professionals serving our communities. It weakens the professions and undermines the services families rely on every day.
This new limit on loans for graduate students would:
- Make it harder for working people to become educators, nurses, social workers and other essential professionals.
- Force students to take on unaffordable private debt or abandon their career goals.
- Worsen shortages in education, healthcare and public services.
- Undermine respect, stability and opportunity in professional careers.
- Limit economic opportunity and weaken the future of our workforce.
AFT members believe in strengthening the professions that serve our communities, not tearing them down. Congress must act now to reverse these limits on graduate students and protect opportunity for the next generation.