ARCH. DEGREE RECLASSIFICATION

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0678

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HR0678 - 104th General Assembly

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HR0678
LRB104 20896 ECR 34585 r
1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

2

WHEREAS, The federal administration has reclassified
3
architecture graduate degrees from "professional" to
4
"non-professional" degrees under the One Big Beautiful Bill
5
Act (OBBBA); and

6

WHEREAS, This reclassification is a challenge to the
7
integrity of the architect profession and to public safety; by
8
stripping architecture of its professional status within the
9
United States Department of Education's classification system,
10
the federal government is disregarding decades of established
11
standards and creating insurmountable financial barriers for
12
the next generation of architects; and

13

WHEREAS, The primary justification for the opposition to
14
this reclassification lies in the very definition of a
15
professional degree; as established in the Higher Education
16
Act of 1965, a professional degree signifies the completion of
17
academic requirements for practice and a level of skill beyond
18
a standard bachelor's degree, typically requiring licensure;
19
and

20

WHEREAS, Architecture meets every one of these criteria;
21
to earn the title of architect, individuals must undergo five
22
to seven years of rigorous, specialized education, complete

HR0678
- 2 -
LRB104 20896 ECR 34585 r
1
thousands of hours of supervised experience, and pass a series
2
of demanding national examinations; classifying this path as
3
"non-professional" is a factual error that dismisses the
4
expertise required to protect the health, safety, and welfare
5
of the public; and

6

WHEREAS, The practical implications of this
7
reclassification are devastating; starting in July 2026, new
8
architect graduate students will be restricted to $20,500
9
annually in federal loans, less than half of the amount
10
available for professional graduate degree students, which is
11
a level that is wholly inadequate to cover the cost of
12
architectural education and will effectively place these
13
graduate degrees out of reach for all but the wealthiest
14
students; and

15

WHEREAS, This new policy ensures that the future of our
16
built environment will be shaped only by those with
17
independent wealth, effectively purging the architect
18
profession of diversity and talent from middle and low-income
19
backgrounds; and

20

WHEREAS, This reclassification will result in pushing
21
students into riskier, higher-interest debt to fund their
22
education and entirely price out certain students who simply
23
have no access to private debt; and

HR0678
- 3 -
LRB104 20896 ECR 34585 r
1

WHEREAS, The consequences of this change will result in a
2
depressive effect on the broader construction market such as
3
fewer architects being available to provide needed services to
4
projects; with a reduced competition among architects, the
5
cost of design and construction services will be further
6
driven up, increasing expenses for schools, municipalities,
7
developers, and homeowners across Illinois; and

8

WHEREAS, The resulting reduction in the number of licensed
9
architects will not be limited to major metropolitan areas but
10
will disproportionately affect suburban and rural communities
11
across Illinois, where access to architectural services is
12
already more limited and where local schools, municipalities,
13
and other institutions rely on licensed architects to maintain
14
safe, resilient, and high-quality buildings and
15
infrastructure; and

16

WHEREAS, The consequences of this reclassification will
17
extend beyond the classroom as a shortage of qualified
18
architects will lead to a decline in the quality of our homes,
19
buildings, infrastructure, and cities; and

20

WHEREAS, The State of Illinois must stand firm in its
21
opposition to the reclassification of architecture degrees as
22
architects are licensed professionals whose status must be

HR0678
- 4 -
LRB104 20896 ECR 34585 r
1
properly recognized to ensure a safe and equitable future for
2
the American public; therefore, be it

3

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
4
HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5
we urge the United States Department of Education to reverse
6
the reclassification of architecture graduate degrees from
7
"professional" to" non-professional" degrees under the One Big
8
Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

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