HR8691Referred to Committee

Nursing is a Professional Degree Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-05-07
Introduced
16
Cosponsors
HR
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Jennifer A. Kiggans
Jennifer A. Kiggans
Republican · VA · Representative
Votes with party: 96.4% (580 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/K000399

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (16)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

2026-05-07

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

The proposal would change how the government defines "professional student" under federal higher education law, which could affect which graduate and professional degree programs qualify students for federal financial aid and student loan programs. This change would impact graduate students pursuing degrees in fields like medicine, law, dentistry, and other professional programs, as well as the colleges and universities that serve them. The specific details of how the definition would change are not yet clear from the referral stage.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Health

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 8691 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8691 To amend the definition of a professional student in the Higher Education Act of 1965. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES May 7, 2026 Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the definition of a professional student in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Nursing is a Professional Degree Act''. SEC. 2. PROFESSIONAL STUDENT AND PROFESSIONAL DEGREE DEFINED. Section 455(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)(4)(C)) is amended-- (1) in clause (ii), by striking ``, as defined under section 668.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this paragraph),''; and (2) by adding at the end the following: ``(iii) Professional degree.--In this paragraph, the term `professional degree'-- ``(I) means a degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession (for which professional licensure is also commonly required) and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor's degree; and ``(II) includes each of the following degrees: ``(aa) Pharmacy (Pharm.D.). ``(bb) Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.). ``(cc) Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.). ``(dd) Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.). ``(ee) Law (L.L.B. or J.D.). ``(ff) Medicine (M.D.). ``(gg) Optometry (O.D.). ``(hh) Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (D.O.). ``(ii) Podiatric Medicine/ Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.). ``(jj) Theology/Theological Studies (M.Div. or M.H.L.). ``(kk) Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.). ``(ll) Nursing (MSN, DNP, DNAP, or Ph.D). ``(mm) Any other degree that meets the requirements of subclause (I), as determined by the Secretary.''. <all>
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