H.R. 8691House119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Nursing is a Professional Degree Act

AI-Generated Summary

Updated May 12, 2026 at 5:52 AM UTC

The bill changes the Higher Education Act’s definition of a “professional student” by adding a clear definition of a “professional degree.” It sets criteria for what counts as a professional degree and lists specific fields—including nursing—so that students in those programs are treated as professional students for federal education programs.

Key Provisions

Amends Section 455(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act to remove a reference to a specific CFR definition.
Adds a new definition of “professional degree” that requires completion of academic requirements for entry‑level practice and a skill level beyond a typical bachelor’s degree.
Specifies that the professional degree category includes degrees in pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, theology, clinical psychology, nursing, and any other degree meeting the same criteria as determined by the Secretary of Education.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Education and Workforce Committee

May 7, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

May 7, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.

Education and Workforce Committee

May 7, 2026

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about H.R. 8691 on the floor

1 Republican

Rep. Monica De La CruzR-TX-15 · Jul 9, 2026

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public bills and resolutions, as follows: H.R. 7: Mr. Van Epps. H.R. 138: Ms. Norton, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, and Mr. Calvert. H.R. 491: Ms. Wilson of…

Under clause 7 of rule XII, sponsors were added to public

bills and resolutions, as follows:

H.R. 7: Mr. Van Epps.

H.R. 138: Ms. Norton, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, and Mr. Calvert.

H.R. 491: Ms. Wilson of Florida.

H.R. 516: Mr. Mullin.

H.R. 569: Ms. Fedorchak.

H.R. 614: Mr. Lawler.

H.R. 652: Ms. Moore of Wisconsin.

H.R. 1055: Mr. Costa and Mr. Keating.

H.R. 1065: Ms. Garcia of Texas.

H.R. 1105: Mr. Gallagher.

H.R. 1106: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 1138: Ms. Salazar.

H.R. 1189: Ms. Clarke of New York.

H.R. 1227: Mr. Himes and Mr. Rulli.

H.R. 1229: Mr. Van Epps.

H.R. 1340: Mr. Obernolte.

H.R. 1589: Mr. Pappas.

H.R. 1685: Ms. DelBene.

H.R. 1700: Ms. McCollum.

H.R. 1782: Mr. Case.

H.R. 1787: Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Levin, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Ivey, Mr.

Pocan, and Mr. Menefee.

H.R. 1946: Mr. Higgins of Louisiana.

H.R. 1970: Mr. Van Orden.

H.R. 2002: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 2028: Mr. Torres of New York.

H.R. 2089: Mr. Timmons, Mr. Van Epps, Mrs. Fischbach, and

Ms. De La Cruz.

H.R. 2120: Ms. Perez.

H.R. 2245: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 2305: Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania and Mr. Magaziner.

H.R. 2332: Mr. Carey.

H.R. 2350: Mr. Thompson of Pennsylvania.

H.R. 2414: Ms. McBride.

H.R. 2509: Mr. Langworthy.

H.R. 2531: Mr. Costa, Ms. Schrier, Mr. Norcross, and Mr.

Van Orden.

H.R. 2587: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 2678: Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mrs. McIver, and Mr.

Conaway.

H.R. 2767: Mr. Lynch.

H.R. 2859: Ms. Ross.

H.R. 2936: Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Carbajal, and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 3045: Mr. Riley of New York and Mr. Whitesides.

H.R. 3057: Mr. Hunt.

H.R. 3105: Mr. Fitzgerald.

H.R. 3111: Mr. Pallone.

H.R. 3184: Mr. Crow and Mrs. Grijalva.

H.R. 3199: Mrs. Kim.

H.R. 3206: Mr. Cuellar.

H.R. 3223: Ms. Perez.

H.R. 3243: Mr. Cohen, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Casar,

Mrs. Foushee, Mr. Case, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms.

Pettersen, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Brown, and Ms. Meng.

H.R. 3295: Mrs. Kim.

H.R. 3307: Mr. Thanedar, Mr. Mackenzie, and Mr. Buchanan.

H.R. 3310: Mr. Moskowitz.

H.R. 3505: Mr. Amo.

H.R. 3644: Mr. Subramanyam.

H.R. 3821: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 3906: Ms. Williams of Georgia.

H.R. 4092: Mr. Fulcher.

H.R. 4119: Mr. DesJarlais and Mr. Van Epps.

H.R. 4180: Mr. Beyer.

H.R. 4443: Mr. Larson of Connecticut.

H.R. 4487: Ms. Waters.

H.R. 4525: Mr. Deluzio.

H.R. 4620: Ms. De La Cruz.

H.R. 4696: Ms. Crockett and Mr. Torres of New York.

H.R. 4763: Mr. Raskin.

H.R. 4876: Ms. Scholten, Mr. Frost, and Mr. Crow.

H.R. 4881: Mr. Case.

H.R. 4958: Ms. Schrier.

H.R. 5106: Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona.

H.R. 5199: Mr. Nunn of Iowa.

H.R. 5203: Ms. Stansbury.

H.R. 5335: Mr. Gimenez.

H.R. 5448: Mr. McGovern.

H.R. 5463: Mr. Onder.

H.R. 5486: Mr. Pallone and Mrs. Fletcher.

H.R. 5521: Ms. Salinas.

H.R. 5543: Mr. Raskin.

H.R. 5549: Mrs. Spartz and Mr. Fulcher.

H.R. 5731: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 5791: Mr. Carbajal and Ms. Meng.

H.R. 6056: Mr. Correa, Mr. Meeks, and Ms. Williams of

Georgia.

H.R. 6130: Mr. Gray, Mr. Mrvan, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Larson of

Connecticut, Mrs. Ramirez, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Costa, Mr.

Garbarino, Mr. Rouzer, and Ms. McClellan.

H.R. 6181: Mr. Cisneros and Mr. Harder of California.

H.R. 6509: Mr. Mrvan.

H.R. 6520: Mr. Messmer.

H.R. 6529: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 6574: Ms. Goodlander.

H.R. 6610: Mr. McCormick.

H.R. 6617: Ms. Hoyle of Oregon.

H.R. 6677: Ms. Hoyle of Oregon and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 6682: Mr. Riley of New York.

H.R. 6694: Ms. Velazquez and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.

H.R. 6718: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 6766: Mr. Landsman and Mr. Obernolte.

H.R. 6806: Mr. Olszewski and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 6832: Mr. Feenstra.

H.R. 6849: Mr. Costa.

H.R. 7016: Mr. Beyer, Mr. Raskin, and Ms. Simon.

H.R. 7411: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 7539: Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Fine, Mrs. Miller of

Illinois, and Mr. Stauber.

H.R. 7601: Ms. Ocasio-Cortez.

H.R. 7622: Mr. Carson and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 7625: Mr. Garamendi.

H.R. 7651: Mr. Alford, Mr. Austin Scott of Georgia, and Ms.

Boebert.

H.R. 7905: Mr. Bacon.

H.R. 7945: Mr. Kustoff.

H.R. 7961: Ms. Houlahan and Mr. Amo.

H.R. 7977: Mr. Norcross.

H.R. 7986: Ms. Lofgren.

H.R. 7998: Ms. Norton.

H.R. 8016: Ms. Wasserman Schultz.

H.R. 8045: Mr. Scott of Virginia.

H.R. 8073: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 8162: Mr. Lawler.

H.R. 8200: Mr. Bost.

H.R. 8205: Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Mrs. Hayes, Mr.

Latimer, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. McBride, Mr. Riley

of New York, Mr. Conaway, Ms. Stansbury, Ms. Ross, Ms.

Pingree, Mr. Himes, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Casten, Mr.

Landsman, Mrs. Grijalva, Ms. Mejia, Mr. Larson of

Connecticut, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Peters, Mr. Jackson of

Illinois, Ms. Adams, Ms. Budzinski, Mrs. Beatty, Mr.

Magaziner, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Mr. Suozzi,

and Ms. Scanlon.

H.R. 8271: Ms. Tenney.

H.R. 8330: Mr. Gallagher.

H.R. 8373: Mrs. Grijalva.

H.R. 8375: Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Budzinski, and Mr.

Ciscomani.

H.R. 8411: Mr. Johnson of Georgia.

H.R. 8465: Mr. Keating.

H.R. 8468: Mr. Hunt.

H.R. 8490: Mr. Carson.

H.R. 8501: Mr. Figures and Mr. Thompson of California.

H.R. 8600: Mr. Whitesides.

H.R. 8666: Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Friedman, and Mr. Tran.

H.R. 8691: Mr. Carson and Mr. Costa.

H.R. 8730: Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Ms. Crockett, and

Mr. Mrvan.

H.R. 8839: Mr. Moskowitz.

H.R. 8887: Mr. Neguse.

H.R. 8892: Mr. Carey.

H.R. 8898: Ms. McBride and Mrs. Miller-Meeks.

H.R. 8909: Ms. Velazquez.

H.R. 8939: Ms. Waters.

H.R. 8955: Mr. Crow.

H.R. 8979: Mr. Figures.

H.R. 8982: Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Simon, and Mr. Subramanyam.

H.R. 8990: Mr. Moran.

H.R. 9021: Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Titus, and Mrs. McIver.

H.R. 9032: Ms. Waters and Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 9043: Mr. McDowell.

H.R. 9048: Mr. Riley of New York, Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia,

and Mr. Weber of Texas.

H.R. 9129: Ms. Salinas.

H.R. 9169: Mr. Van Drew.

H.R. 9183: Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 9189: Ms. Tlaib.

H.R. 9199: Mr. Norman.

H.R. 9204: Ms. Chu.

H.R. 9205: Ms. Chu.

H.R. 9211: Mr. Buchanan and Mr. Bell.

H.R. 9216: Mr. Cohen and Ms. Waters.

H.R. 9250: Mr. Garbarino, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Moore of West

Virginia, Mr. Garcia of California, Mr. Harrigan, Mr. Levin,

Mr. Flood, Ms. Chu, Mr. Meuser, and Ms. Crockett.

H.R. 9289: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 9293: Mr. Evans of Colorado and Mr. Mackenzie.

H.R. 9332: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 9339: Mr. Vindman.

H.R. 9361: Mr. Finstad and Mr. Jackson of Texas.

H.R. 9370: Ms. Brown and Ms. Scholten.

H.R. 9371: Mr. Frost.

H.R. 9382: Mr. Mannion and Ms. Tenney.

H.R. 9401: Mr. Lawler, Mr. Crow, and Ms. DelBene.

H.R. 9411: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9414: Mr. Vindman, Mr. Cisneros, Mr. Keating, and Ms.

McBride.

H.R. 9417: Mr. Moylan, Mr. Haridopolos, Mr. Rogers of

Kentucky, and Mr. McDowell.

H.R. 9421: Ms. Tenney and Mr. Steube.

H.R. 9441: Ms. Dexter and Mr. Tonko.

H.R. 9448: Ms. Ross, Mr. Lieu, and Mr. Nadler.

H.R. 9451: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9492: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9508: Mr. Fitzpatrick.

H.R. 9535: Mr. Van Drew.

H.R. 9580: Mr. Messmer.

H.R. 9591: Ms. Crockett, Mr. Evans of Pennsylvania, Ms.

Williams of Georgia, Ms. Underwood, Ms. Simon, Ms. Wilson of

Florida, and Ms. Chu.

H.J. Res. 12: Mr. Ciscomani.

H.J. Res. 135: Mr. Whitesides.

H.J. Res. 200: Mr. Menendez and Mr. Pallone.

H. Con. Res. 37: Mr. Tonko, Ms. Bonamici, and Mrs. Foushee.

H. Con. Res. 44: Ms. Pingree, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mr.

Vargas, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, and Mr.

Pocan.

H. Res. 547: Ms. Waters.

H. Res. 1025: Ms. Waters.

H. Res. 1382: Mrs. Biggs of South Carolina.

H. Res. 1384: Mr. Bell, Ms. Brown, Mr. Garcia of Illinois,

Mrs. Beatty, Ms. Norton, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Goldman of New

York, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Strickland, Mr. Davis of

Illinois, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Mejia, Mr. Conaway, Mr. Takano,

Mr. Menefee, Ms. Salinas, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen,

and Mr. Gomez.

H. Res. 1395: Mr. Fields.

H. Res. 1415: Mr. DeSaulnier and Ms. Jayapal.

H. Res. 1420: Ms. Underwood and Ms. Bynum.

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued May 7, 2026

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 8691

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

May 7, 2026

Mrs. Kiggans of Virginia (for herself, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Bergman, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Bacon) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce

A BILL

To amend the definition of a professional student in the Higher Education Act of 1965.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Nursing is a Professional Degree Act.

Professional student and professional degree defined

Section 455(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)(4)(C)) is amended—

(1)

in clause (ii), by striking , as defined under section 668.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this paragraph),; and

(2)

by adding at the end the following:

(iii)

Professional degree

In this paragraph, the term professional degree—

(I)

means a degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession (for which professional licensure is also commonly required) and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree; and

(II)

includes each of the following degrees:

(aa)

Pharmacy (Pharm.D.).

(bb)

Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.).

(cc)

Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.).

(dd)

Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.).

(ee)

Law (L.L.B. or J.D.).

(ff)

Medicine (M.D.).

(gg)

Optometry (O.D.).

(hh)

Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (D.O.).

(ii)

Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.).

(jj)

Theology/Theological Studies (M.Div. or M.H.L.).

(kk)

Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).

(ll)

Nursing (MSN, DNP, DNAP, or Ph.D).

(mm)

Any other degree that meets the requirements of subclause (I), as determined by the Secretary.