U.S. Department of Education officials missed the mark badly when they decided, purportedly in a revision that is part of the Big Beautiful Bill, to eliminate nursing, physical therapy, public health and other fields from those graduate study fields in which students are able to borrow loans up to the cost of their degree.

Those programs are not, in the opinion of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., “professional.” In fact, only the following fields are now defined as professional programs, according to the Education Department: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and — somewhat oddly — theology.

Those who wish to become nurses, educators, accountants, architects or pursue a host of other careers will likely now face student loan caps that could make it more difficult to afford their education.

Anyone who has been watching the challenges created by SHORTAGES in fields such as nursing and education will note multiple problems here.

“At a time when health care in our country faces a historic nurse shortage and rising demands, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care,” American Nurses Association president Jennifer Menik Kennedy said in a statement reported by NPR. “In many communities across the country, particularly in rural and underserved areas, advanced practice registered nurses ensure access to essential, high-quality care.”

In addition to the mild insult of deciding those in certain fields are not “professionals,” the change will also make it harder for those from lower income families to afford the education they need — not just to pursue their own dreams, but to fill vital roles in our communities. That limits the pool of future nurses, teachers and others.

“If future medical students face greater financial barriers — especially those from low-income, rural, or first-generation backgrounds — we risk shrinking the supply of qualified applicants,” the Association of American Medical Colleges told NPR.

The Associated Press notes this bizarre plan is still being finalized, but that new student loan caps could take effect in July.

What a shame it will be if unelected bureaucrats push through a plan that will reduce opportunity for those who, in turn, would have pursued educations that helped them make a difference for the rest of us.