Beshear joins leaders of dozens of states to sue US Education Department. Here’s why

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has joined leaders from half the states in the U.S. in a federal lawsuit against the Department of Education over limiting student loans, especially for certain healthcare students, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.

The Department of Education finalized rules on May 1 that redefine professional and graduate degrees, and caps how much money these students can borrow from the federal government.

The department’s new rules sparked backlash from Democratic lawmakers who are pushing for the inclusion of other professions to qualify for higher loans. Twenty-five Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia were listed as plaintiffs.

They alleged that the education department created more criteria to qualify for professional degree loans than what Congress agreed upon when it approved House Resolution 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law in 2025. It aimed to save federal dollars.

Under the new rule, loan limits will be lower based on areas of study and experience in the field.

“Whether a program of study meets (the education department’s) definition will determine whether students in that program may borrow up to the higher limit (for professional degrees) or lower limit (for graduate degrees),” the lawsuit said.

In the past, graduate students could borrow their full cost of attendance, according to the National Education Association.

Now, students in professional programs can borrow up to $50,000 per year and $200,000 over their lifetime. Graduate students can take a loan up to $20,500 annually and $100,000 total.

The federal complaint, filed in Maryland, alleged Congress did not agree to cap loans based on areas of study or whether the students are pursuing professional or graduate degrees.

The new rules take aim at areas in the healthcare industry, according to the complaint. The education department said professional degrees include but are not limited to pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology.

The states suing the education department called the new rules “arbitrary and capricious,” according to the lawsuit.

They said the Department of Education did not consider “its separate statutory authority to allow higher loan limits for certain high-cost degrees and failed to consider programs’ operating costs.”

The complaint also alleged that the education department’s new rules will prevent students from “grandfathering” existing loan limits when they transfer, withdraw or re-enroll in an institution.

Over 78,000 comments, which included plaintiffs, disapproved of that rule and “many voiced concern about the (provision’s) exclusion of critical professions in healthcare and other fields,” the lawsuit said.