Policy Briefs May 2026

On May 21, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has concluded its second session of the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) committee, with negotiators reaching consensus with the Department on new regulations impacting institutional and programmatic accreditors. In the final vote count, 12 of the 14 negotiators agreed to what was finalized, with two negotiators (one representing student loan borrowers and the other representing veterans and U.S. military service) abstaining from the final vote.

The final proposal gives accreditation agencies responsibility in assessing and overseeing academic freedom, intellectual diversity, research integrity, and First Amendment rights at institutions. Negotiators and the Department spent thorough time discussing and defining how accreditation agencies would oversee how an institution is adhering to intellectual diversity.  Notably, while the committee came to a decision, not every issue was discussed in-depth, thus making the comment period critical, as it gives organizations and individuals the chance to comment on issues.

According to Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent, who spoke after the committee reached consensus, proposed rules are expected to be released in the summer, and for final rules to be out before November 1, 2026 for rules to take effect July 1, 2027.

On May 14, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee to justify the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) planned FY 2027 budget amongst other policy decisions. Graduate borrowing caps and the professional degree definition drew the most sustained, bipartisan pushback of the hearing. Representatives from both parties raised concerns about the “professional degree” definition finalized by the Department, including how the new graduate loan caps would push students into the private loan market and worsen healthcare and education workforce shortages. Representatives Bonamici (D-OR), Hayes (D-CT), Norcross (D-CA), and Omar (D-MN) notably highlighted social work as one of the declassified professions widely affected by the final rules. Secretary McMahon defended the rule as final but expressed willingness to discuss workforce pathways for registered nurses and physician assistants. 

The House Committee on Appropriations plans to mark-up the FY 2027 Appropriations bill, with the subcommittee mark-up scheduled for June 5 and the full committee mark-up scheduled for June 9. Proposed funding amounts from the House are planned to be released closer to the mark-up date. 

On May 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) published the final rules related that were created and agreed upon by the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) committee, stemmed from the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) on July 4, 2025.
 
The final rules remain largely unchanged from the proposed rule across all major provisions. The definition of professional degree programs, which under the final rule qualify to take out $50,000/year with a $200,000 aggregate cap on federal loans, is identical to what was originally proposed by the Department. ED retained the original 11 fields deemed professional, leaving out social work despite many public comments calling for it to be included. Federal loan limits for graduate students remain at $20,500/year with a $100,000 aggregate cap.

CSWE will continue to advocate for social work students and their access to federal funding to help assist in the pursuit of their degrees. CSWE is actively engaging with members of Congress to push legislation that includes social work as a professional degree and to reverse course on the RISE final rules. For CSWE’s official statement on the RISE final rules, please see here. A full analysis of what is included in the final rules can be found here.