Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 10 - Issue 8

This Week In Washington

On Monday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision to dismiss a challenge to the Biden-era Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The court ordered the lower court to accept a settlement between the Education Department (ED) and the plaintiff states to terminate SAVE. This ruling clears the way for the dismissal of the SAVE Plan.

ED published an electronic announcement outlining upcoming changes to the Federal Student Aid system and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid to support the revised limits on federal student loans under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). These system changes go live on April 26th.

News You Can Use

Several U.S. states are considering alternatives to the traditional bar exam. In Connecticut, the Bar Foundation has launched a task force to design a public service-focused licensing pathway. In New Mexico, the State Supreme Court has convened a committee to create a supervised practice route that would grant law graduates a conditional license. After completing supervised work and submitting samples to the Board of Bar Examiners, they could become fully licensed.

Recent survey results from Third Way show that while many Americans hold favorable views of higher education, many remain concerned about rising tuition costs and the burden of student loan debt. However, most respondents support requiring higher education programs to pass the new earnings tests and limiting federal lending for graduate school.

Recent Legislation

The following bill(s) have been recently introduced for consideration by the 119th Congress (2025-26):

S. 4039 – Professional Degree Access Restoration Act [Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD)] would reverse recent reduction in federal loan availability for graduate and professional students. The bill would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to restore the full loan limits that were changed under OBBBA.