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Congress·In Committee·H.R. 8691

Nursing is a Professional Degree Act

Higher Education: Nursing Degrees Classified as Professional Degrees

23 days ago·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process after being sent to the House Committee on Education and Workforce for review. It is actively moving through the system, but no further hearings or votes have been scheduled yet.

Legislative Progress

House
Senate
President
Law
Unlikely to pass

While addressing the nursing shortage is a popular goal, most bills introduced in the House never make it to a final vote without significant bipartisan support or leadership backing.

Key Points

  • This bill changes federal law to officially label advanced nursing degrees as professional degrees. This includes Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice degrees.
  • By making this change, nursing students would be treated the same as medical, law, and dental students under the Higher Education Act. This usually affects how much students can borrow in federal loans and their eligibility for certain financial aid programs.
  • The goal is to recognize the high level of skill and training required for advanced nursing. Supporters believe this will help address nursing shortages by making it easier for nurses to afford the education needed for leadership or specialized roles.
  • The list of professional degrees would also include pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, law, and medicine. The Secretary of Education would have the power to add other similar degrees in the future.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
May 7, 2026House

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

May 7, 2026

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Votes

No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Related Bills

2 bills
H.R. 8659Identical bill

Nursing is a Professional Degree Act

May 4 — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

H.R. 6718Related bill

Professional Student Degree Act

Dec 15 — Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Nursing is a Professional Degree Act

Bill NumberHR 8691
Congress119th Congress
ChamberHouse of Representatives
Latest ActionReferred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Read Full Bill Text

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(8)
R: 8

Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.