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Which academic programs (law, medicine, education, engineering, etc.) were specifically affected by the reclassification?
Executive summary
Available sources discuss a range of “reclassification” processes — from high school athletic classification by the Georgia High School Association to teacher reclassification, English‑learner exit rules, and proposed federal changes to the definition of “professional degree programs” — but none of the provided documents list a single, consolidated set of academic programs (law, medicine, education, engineering, etc.) that were “specifically affected by the reclassification.” The closest relevant materials are a Department of Education RISE/OBBBA discussion about which professional degrees would be included or excluded (which notes public health and “several other health professions” could be excluded) [1], and NASFAA discussion of a new “professional degree” definition that outlines criteria including doctoral‑level timing and multi‑year coursework [2]. Other sources focus on athletics, teacher reclassification procedures, or EL (English Learner) exit criteria rather than program‑by‑program academic reclassifications [3] [4] [5] [6].
1. What the reporting actually covers — different meanings of “reclassification”
The materials in the search results use “reclassification” in several separate administrative contexts: GHSA is reallocating high schools into classifications/regions for athletics for 2026–2028 and scheduling appeal windows (schools may appeal classification or region assignments) [3] [7] [4]; state and district pages discuss reclassification as changing student status from English Learner to former EL and the required monitoring after exit [6] [8] [9]; and human‑resources style teacher reclassification guidelines cover credits and promotion/position changes [5] [10]. None of these documents attempt to relabel academic degree programs such as law, medicine, engineering as a group [3] [7] [5] [6] [4] [8] [9] [10].
2. Federal debate about “professional degree” definitions — implication for health and similar fields
A separate thread in the materials concerns the U.S. Department of Education RISE Committee’s draft definition of “professional degree programs” under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) reports the draft would exclude public health programs and “several other health professions,” and the association is “deeply concerned and profoundly disappointed” [1]. NASFAA reporting summarizes negotiation on a new professional‑degree definition that emphasizes criteria like signifying readiness for beginning practice, often being at the doctoral level, and requiring at least six years of postsecondary education including two post‑baccalaureate years [2]. These items indicate some programs in health and allied professions are being debated for inclusion/exclusion, but do not provide a definitive list of affected degree types like “law” or “engineering” [1] [2].
3. What the documents do not say — no singular list of affected academic programs
Available sources do not present a single reclassification action that explicitly relabels or moves named academic programs (law, medicine, education, engineering) from one category to another. The GHSA items concern school sports classifications [3] [7] [4], state teacher and EL pages address personnel and student status reclassification procedures [5] [6] [8] [9] [10], and higher‑education program “reclassification” guidance from New York State describes administrative steps when program majors change but does not list a blanket reclassification of professional fields [11]. Therefore: no source here lists “law, medicine, education, engineering” as specifically affected by a single reclassification decision [3] [7] [1] [5] [6] [4] [2] [11] [8] [9] [10].
4. Where you can look next and what to expect from follow‑up reporting
If your question aims at the RISE/OBBBA professional‑degree definition, follow reporting from DOE rulemaking, NASFAA, and professional associations (ASPPH) for official lists and agency notices; ASPPH already flags public health and “several other health professions” as excluded under the current draft [1] [2]. If you meant academic program reclassification at the state level (e.g., program‑type reclassification by higher‑education regulators), consult New York State Education Department guidance on program changes and master plan amendments for examples of when a program moves to a new subject area; that page explains process but not a list of impacted degree titles [11]. If your interest is school‑level reclassification (athletics, EL exit, teacher ranks), the GHSA and state education reclassification pages provide concrete procedural dates and monitoring rules rather than lists of academic majors [3] [7] [4] [6] [5].
5. Bottom line and caution about overgeneralizing
Available sources show multiple simultaneous “reclassification” conversations in different policy domains; they do not support a single sweeping claim that specific academic programs such as law, medicine, education, and engineering were universally “reclassified.” For the federal “professional degree” debate, reporting signals exclusion risk for public health and other health professions in a draft definition [1] [2], but a complete, authoritative roster of included/excluded professional degree programs is not provided in the current materials [1] [2] [11].