NURSE EDUCATOR BLOG

Strategies & Resources
for Nursing Education

Advocating for Nursing Education: Your Viewpoint Matters

by Jun 4, 2026

Making an Impact Doesn’t Require a Big Time Commitment

Nurse educators are facing increasing pressure to expand program capacity while managing underprepared students, ongoing faculty shortages, and clinical placement challenges. Federal policy plays a critical role in addressing these issues, and you can make a difference here. How? By joining ATI’s public affairs advocacy efforts.

ATI strengthens the nursing workforce pipeline by working with educators, industry partners and policymakers to advance policies that support faculty, students and nursing programs.

As part of this advocacy work, it’s important that we have many voices sharing real-world perspectives with policymakers to better inform their decision-making.

Bipartisan Legislation That Could Affect You & Your Program

In summer 2026, ATI’s public affairs team is working on behalf of the following bills:

Nursing is a Professional Degree Act (S.4568 / H.R.8659) would define advanced nursing degrees as “professional,” making them eligible for higher federal student loans.
Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2025 (S.1874 / H.R.3593) seeks to strengthen grant programs supporting nurse and nurse educator education.
PRECEPT Nurses Act (S.131 / H.R.392) seeks to create a $2,000 nonrefundable tax credit for eligible nurse preceptors.
Train More Nurses Act (S.547 / H.R.5052) would direct the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Labor to evaluate grant programs to expand nursing faculty and the nursing pipeline.
National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2025 (S.1482 / H.R.4407) would establish a pilot program to support state‑based nursing workforce centers.
Faculty Shortage Reduction Act (S.3707 /  H.R.7279) establishes a $15 million grant program to boost nursing faculty salaries and reduce shortages
Rebuild America’s Health Care Schools Act of 2025 (S.1087 / H.R.1708) would ensure that hospitals receive full Medicare reimbursement for clinical training costs for nursing and allied health students.
Modernizing Rural Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Utilization Act (H.R. 5199) would provide greater flexibility for nurse practitioners and physician assistants to provide high-level healthcare services.

Make Your Voice Heard: Join ATI’s Advocacy Efforts

Policymakers rely on input from educators like you to understand how legislation affects nursing programs in practice. To help get your viewpoint in front of lawmakers, we encourage you to complete the advocacy interest form linked here.

Once you’ve completed this form, our team will be in touch to share easy-to-use resources, learn more about your story, and work together on media advocacy efforts such as a letter to the editor or a case study.