The U.S. Department of Education concluded its negotiated rulemaking session, where the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee reached consensus on the entire package of federal student loan-related changes advanced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The RISE Committee met over the course of two weeks in September and November to place commonsense limits and guardrails on future student loan borrowing and simplify the federal student loan repayment system.
Under President Trump’s OBBBA, the Department’s rulemaking will eliminate the Grad PLUS program, cap Parent PLUS Loans, sunset the student loan repayment plans created by previous administrations, and create a new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
Beginning in July 2026, the OBBBA caps annual loans for new borrowers at $20,500 for graduate students ($100,000 aggregate limit), and $50,000 for professional students ($200,000 aggregate limit) – a term the committee defined consistent with existing regulatory text. Previously, graduate students could borrow up to the cost of attendance.
“We appreciate the committee’s efforts to assist the Department in implementing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will simplify our complex student loan repayment system and better align higher education with workforce needs,” said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent. “The consensus language agreed upon by the negotiators today will help drive a sea change in higher education by holding universities accountable for outcomes and putting significant downward pressure on the cost of tuition. This will benefit borrowers who will no longer be pushed into insurmountable debt to finance degrees that do not pay off.”
In total, negotiators reviewed and agreed to 17 regulatory provisions, including changes to the RAP and the definition of a professional student. In response to suggestions from negotiators on the Committee, the Department made more than a dozen changes to its proposed regulatory language.
For more information on the negotiated rulemaking process, see here.