AANMC & AANP Joint Statement on Federal Court Decision Regarding the RISE Rule
June 25, 2026
The Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges (AANMC) and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) welcome the recent federal court decision issuing a preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the U.S. Department of Education’s revised definition of a “professional degree” under the RISE rule. We are appreciative of the significant work that has led to this preliminary ruling.
While naturopathic medicine was not a named plaintiff in this litigation, the court’s reasoning speaks to many of the concerns raised by AANMC, our member institutions, students, and coalition partners regarding the impact of the rule on healthcare education and workforce development.
At this time, the implications of the ruling for naturopathic medical students and programs remain under review. We are actively triangulating information from legal counsel, coalition partners, financial aid counselors, higher education organizations, and other affected professions to better understand the scope of the decision and any potential implications for our institutions and students.
This remains a rapidly evolving situation. Questions remain regarding implementation of the court’s order, the Department of Education’s next steps, and whether additional legal or administrative actions may be necessary.
We remain committed to advocating for equitable treatment of naturopathic medical education within federal student aid programs and protecting access to the future whole-person healthcare workforce.
We recognize that this uncertainty has created concern among current and prospective students. We encourage students to remain in close communication with their institutions regarding financial aid and enrollment planning.
We will continue to share updates to our community as additional information becomes available.
AANMC and AANP are committed to ensuring that naturopathic medical education is accurately represented in federal policy and that students retain access to the resources necessary to complete their training. We will continue to call on Congress to correct this policy failure. Federal loan policies must support—not undermine—national efforts to expand a healthcare workforce dedicated to health promotion, patient access, and integrative, whole-person medicine.
