On Jan. 29, the Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, which would make significant changes to federal student loan eligibility including professional loans for pharmacy school and other degrees supporting behavioral health. The notice, issued pursuant to provisions of H.R.1, would reclassify several graduate degrees, including social work and some counseling degrees, so that they are no longer considered “professional” degree programs. The proposal would limit the annual amount of public loans an individual can obtain for these graduate degrees to $20,500 per year and $100,000 over the course of one’s lifetime. Medicine, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, chiropractic, optometry, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, law, theology and clinical psychology would still be considered professional degrees, for which students can receive up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 total in public loans. The notice does not differ meaningfully from a previously released proposal highlighting the potential changes. If the rule is finalized, it would become effective July 1, and comments on the rule will be due March 2.