May 29, 2026

Dear Colleagues, 

Despite months of advocacy from CRNA and RRNAs across the country proving that nurse anesthesia programs qualify as professional degrees, the Department of Education (ED) on May 1 finalized a rule misclassifying future CRNAs as graduate students. This would subject future RRNAs to the lower cap of $20,500 per year or $100,000 in aggregate. AANA remains committed to fighting this misclassification via all possible routes. That is why AANA joined the American Nurses Association (ANA) and other nursing organizations and allied partners in a nursing focused legal action challenging ED’s final rule.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Massachusetts today and asks the court to stop this misclassification before it goes into effect on July 1. The lawsuit argues that ED’s wrongful exclusion of advanced nursing degrees from the professional degree definition violates the law, exceeds ED’s authority, and that ED failed to take the impact on the future nursing workforce into account during their rulemaking. 

Read the joint press release.

Additionally, AANA’s advocacy continues beyond the courtroom. In the wake of the recent ED rule, AANA is actively working with congressional partners to advance legislative solutions that properly designate post-baccalaureate nursing degrees as professional degrees, giving appropriate access to federal student lending for advanced practice nursing students. 

AANA has endorsed two bipartisan bills aimed at correcting this harmful and misguided policy, and member advocacy remains critical.  

Legislators still need to hear directly from CRNAs/nurse anesthesiologists, RRNAs, and supporters of advanced nursing education that protecting access to student loans is essential to sustaining the future healthcare workforce and ensuring patients continue to receive the care they need.  

Take action and support these bills today! 

We will keep you updated through our newsletters and social media, and you can always find more information on this webpage. 

Sincerely, 

The AANA Board of Directors