The Secretary of Education is seeking comments on proposed federal student loan regulatory changes, which stem from legislative action last summer.
In a Federal Register Notice published on January 30, 2026, the Secretary proposes to amend some of the regulations governing the Federal student loan programs in order to implement changes that were part of the Budget Reconciliation Bill that was signed into law on July 4, 2025.
The changes include:
- establishing new loan limits for graduate students, professional students, and parents.
- phasing out the Graduate PLUS Program.
- interpreting the phrase “professional student” as used in the context of the loan limits.
- simplifying the Federal student loan repayment plans by phasing out the current Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans and creating a new tiered standard repayment plan option.
- implementing a new income-driven repayment plan known as the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP).
- 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 NPRM is also available.
Comments are due on or before March 2 and must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov.
