The U.S. Department of Education is moving ahead with the process to turn the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into enforceable regulations, launching a series of public rulemaking sessions that could affect everything from how student loan repayment plans work to which colleges qualify for federal financial aid.

Announced this week, the Department’s Office of Postsecondary Education will oversee two negotiated rulemaking committees: one focused on student loan changes and another on new workforce-related Pell Grant rules and institutional accountability. Each committee will meet for five days across multiple months, with public hearings and comment periods along the way.

While Congress has already passed the law, much of the work to implement it still lies ahead.

What Is Negotiated Rulemaking And Why Is It Required?

Under Section 492 of the Higher Education Act, the Department of Education must use a formal process (called negotiated rulemaking) when writing regulations for federal student aid programs. Unlike standard federal rulemaking, this process requires the Department to consult with representatives from affected groups, including schools, borrowers, and advocacy organizations.

Before any proposed regulations are published, these representatives meet with Department officials in structured sessions to try to reach agreement on the language of new rules. A neutral third party moderates the meetings, which are held publicly. If the group reaches consensus, the Department must use the agreed-upon language in its official Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. If not, the Department retains the authority to move forward with its own version.

The most recent rulemaking was just a few weeks back, focused on changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.

The purpose is to build buy-in from stakeholders and surface concerns before regulations are finalized. That’s especially important now, given the sweeping scope of the OBBB, which includes changes to student loan repayment plans, limits on graduate student loans, rules for part-time enrollment, and new performance measures for colleges.

Key Dates

The Department’s first public hearing on the upcoming rules will take place virtually on August 7, 2025. Anyone can submit written comments through the federal rulemaking portal at Regulations.gov. These comments must be received within 30 days of publication in the Federal Register.

Following that, the two rulemaking committees will convene:

Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee

Focus: Student loan repayment rules

• September 29 – October 3, 2025
• November 3 – November 7, 2025

Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee

Focus: Pell Grants, program-level accountability

• December 8 – December 12, 2025
• January 5 – January 9, 2026

Each session will run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Why This Matters For Borrowers

While the One Big Beautiful Bill has already passed, negotiated rulemaking is where many of the specifics will be hammered out. For borrowers, that includes how the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will function, what happens to borrowers currently in SAVE or PAYE, and other small details that weren’t specified in the law.

For colleges and universities, especially those that rely heavily on federal aid, the process will shape how they are evaluated for accountability purposes, how they qualify for new Workforce Pell Grants, and how they must report student outcomes like graduation rates and job placement.

These negotiations also offer a window into how the Department under the Trump administration plans to implement the law: whether they will push stricter standards on schools, change forgiveness pathways, or create additional hurdles for borrowers trying to switch repayment plans.

What Happens Next?

While the Department has issued initial guidance on some changes already in effect, such as modifications to repayment plans and parent loan options, the bulk of the law still requires detailed rulemaking. This includes issues like the implementation of the new RAP plan, new Pell Grant changes, and new requirements for institutions.

Borrowers, advocates, and institutions can continue to shape the rules by submitting comments and tracking the public sessions. If the committees reach consensus, that version of the rules must be used. If not, the Department will draft its own version, still subject to public comment before final regulations are issued.

For those affected, especially borrowers navigating changing repayment options or those paying for college, these rules will determine what the next decade of student loan repayment and financial aid looks like in practice.

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