Workforce News 2026July24

Department of Education Updates List of Professional Degree Programs Due to Court Order

On July 10, 2026, the Department of Education provided an update to its List of Professional Degree Programs Due to Court Order. This list was originally issued on June 29, 2026 in response to a court order that preliminarily set aside and stayed certain aspects of the definition of “professional degree” under ED’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) final rule. For the duration of the court’s preliminary stay, ED is treating an interim list of programs as awarding professional degrees for the purpose of administering statutory loan limits. This interim list of programs includes audiology/audiologist, speech-language pathology/pathologist, physical therapy/therapist, occupational therapy/therapist, physician associate/assistant, and registered nursing/registered nurse. The July 10th update clarifies that that the 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes for the Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (MSN) (51.3801) and Nursing Practice (DNP) (51.3818) include any program within the same four-digit CIP code, as assigned by the institution or determined by the Secretary, provided it awards the same credential. ED is also amending the Clinical Psychology program entry (42.2801) to include the Ph.D. designation, which was inadvertently not included in the initial list. LeadingAge opposed the rulemaking that is the basis for this litigation because of the likely negative impact to educational pipelines for several fields that are integral to the aging services sector, including nursing and rehab therapies. In addition to keeping members up to date on this ongoing litigation, we are also assessing several legislative proposals that aim address the implications of the RISE rule’s “professional degree” definition.

Senate, House Members Reintroduce the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act.

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act on July 16. This bill would help internationally educated health care professionals overcome common barriers to entering the health care workforce in the United States. It would create a grant program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration to:

Support communities in developing local- and state-level partnerships between health care organizations, community-based organizations, higher education, and state and local governments to help connect internationally educated health care professionals with the resources they need to enter the health care workforce.
Address barriers internationally educated health care professionals trying to enter the health care workforce face by:
Assisting with obtaining overseas academic or training records and providing support throughout the U.S. licensing and credentialing process.
Developing work-readiness, peer support, mentoring, and culturally competent career counseling opportunities.
Establishing opportunities to complete necessary prerequisite courses, continuing education training, and English-language learning.
Supporting growth opportunities to address classroom and clinical instructor shortages.
Giving priority to partnerships focused on supporting health care workers serving rural communities or filling a workforce shortage within a community.

LeadingAge supports this bill.