A Direct Hit to the Care Economy
The Trump Administration’s new student-loan rules strike at the heart of America’s care economy, reclassifying the advanced degrees held by nurses, educators, speech-language pathologists, social workers, physician assistants, and other predominantly female professionals as something less than “professional.” Under these changes, only a narrow set of degrees—law, medicine, pharmacy, veterinary science, and theology—will qualify for the highest levels of federal graduate-loan support.
Everyone else, including workers in fields that require master’s degrees, clinical placements, and licensure, is pushed into a lower tier with sharply reduced loan access and the elimination of Grad PLUS loans. For nurses, teachers, therapists, and social workers—jobs overwhelmingly filled by women, especially women of color—this creates an immediate and punishing barrier to pursuing the education their careers demand.
Closing the Door on Economic Mobility for Women
Economically, these changes strike at one of the few reliable paths to financial stability for women. Advanced degrees in nursing, education, social work, and allied health are among the clearest routes for women—particularly women of color—to secure middle-class wages, retirement benefits, and long-term career mobility.
When federal loan access is cut off, the burden falls hardest on women who cannot tap generational wealth or private credit to finance their degrees. By narrowing the educational pipeline, the administration is effectively narrowing lifetime earnings, deepening gender and racial wage gaps, and constricting economic growth in communities that rely on these professions as anchor employment.
An Unaffordable Barrier to Entry
The impact is stark. Many advanced nursing, teaching, social work, and allied-health programs cost well over $100,000. Without access to full federal loans, students—especially first-generation college students and those from low-wealth families—will be forced toward expensive private loans or out of school entirely.
Because these professions are heavily represented in public hospitals, schools, and community-based agencies, the rule also threatens the diversity and stability of the nation’s caregiving workforce. Women of color, who already face greater financial barriers and are more likely to serve in high-need communities, will be hit hardest.
Worsening a Growing Workforce Crisis
This policy couldn’t come at a worse time. The United States is already facing severe shortages of nurses, mental-health providers, special-education teachers, and speech-language pathologists. Restricting access to the degrees needed to enter these fields will only deepen those shortages and diminish access to care and services in underserved communities.
Unions Push Back—and Define What a Profession Is
Unions and professional organizations are fighting back. National nurses’ groups, education unions, and allied-health associations are pressing Congress and the Department of Education to reverse the reclassification and reinstate full federal loan eligibility for these advanced degrees. They are mobilizing member stories—especially from women of color—to show the real-world consequences of shutting working people out of graduate programs.
This moment demands clarity: nursing is a profession. Teaching is a profession. Speech pathology, social work, and allied health are professions. They require rigorous education, advanced clinical training, and skills the country depends on every single day.
By stripping these careers of their “professional” status, the Trump Administration is not just reshaping a loan program—it is devaluing the work of millions of women and narrowing the path for the next generation. Unions are committed to stopping that from happening, and they are calling on workers and community allies alike to defend the dignity and professional standing of America’s care workforce.
