US Education Department faces lawsuit over student loan limitations

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According to The Hill, two healthcare advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the Education Department on Wednesday regarding the cap on the amount of student loans that physician assistants and associates may take out.
The PA Education Association and the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claiming that the Department of Education's upcoming rule change regarding the borrowing cap for physician associate students is illegal.

Graduate and professional students may borrow up to $100,000 and $200,000, respectively, under the new regulation, which the department published in the Federal Register last month. The two student clubs are each permitted to borrow up to $20,500 and $50,000 each year.
The AAPA reports that the median tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students is over $101,200 and almost $97,000, respectively. The group stated in February that the overall cost of attendance for these students "often exceeds" $200,000 when accommodation, fees, supplies, and "other required expenses" are taken into account.

According to the new regulation, eleven programs—including those in chiropractic, dentistry, medicine, optometry, osteopathy, pharmacy, podiatry, and veterinary medicine—qualify as "professional" degrees. However, certain programs fall outside of that category and are consequently subject to the lower borrowing limits.
Before the regulation takes effect on July 1, the advocacy groups are requesting a preliminary injunction to stop it.

The lawsuit claims that by adding conditions to the definition of professional degree that Congress did not approve, the regulation violates the Administrative Procedure Act.