From Business Insider · Ayelet Sheffey · · 1m 20s
Judge blocks Trump's student-loan borrowing caps
A federal judge ruled the Trump administration exceeded its authority in limiting student loans for advanced degrees, blocking the plan for the third time.
In brief
A federal judge ruled the Trump administration exceeded its authority in limiting student loans for advanced degrees, blocking the plan for the third time. US District Judge Michael Simon blocked the Department of Education's plan to cap student-loan borrowing for advanced degrees, ruling it exceeded the department's…
Judge blocks Trump's borrowing cap plan
US District Judge Michael Simon ruled the Department of Education exceeded its authority when it intended to restrict access to federal lending for certain professional degrees.
What the plan would have done
The department planned to implement a new rule on July first that would have limited professional degrees to eleven programs, including dentistry and medicine, while excluding others like nursing and social work.
The borrowing cap structure
Only the eleven programs would qualify for a two hundred thousand dollar lifetime borrowing cap, while other advanced programs would receive a one hundred thousand dollar lifetime cap.
Naturopathy case triggers ruling
The ruling in Oregon last month related to naturopathic medicine. Plaintiffs said excluding the field risked pushing students into private loans with higher interest rates ineligible for federal forgiveness programs.
Judge finds harms are imminent
Simon said harms to students and schools are imminent because students are deciding whether they can afford to enroll for the coming academic year. He ordered naturopathic medicine qualified for the higher borrowing limit.
“imminent”
What it means
US District Judge Michael Simon blocked the Department of Education's plan to cap student-loan borrowing for advanced degrees, ruling it exceeded the department's authority.
