Along with all of the tasks at the academic year-end and the awarding of aid for the next year, financial aid professionals are also in the middle of implementing new federal student loan rules.
On Friday, May 1, the Department of Education published the final regulations in the Federal Register for the Federal student loan programs, which will implement the statutory changes to the Title IV Higher Education Act (HEA) programs.
These regulations are effective July 1, 2026.
The statutory changes, which were included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (previously the One Big Beautify Bill Act), will implement a number of changes to the student loan programs. These include:
- Establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents.
- Simplifying the Federal student loan repayment plans. This includes phasing out the existing Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans, creating a new Tiered Standard repayment plan option, and establishing a new income-driven repayment plan known as the Repayment Assistance Plan.
- Enabling borrowers in default who have previously rehabilitated a defaulted loan a second chance to rehabilitate their loan(s) and resume repayment.
A PDF version of the 134-page Federal Register is available.
