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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 72, March 5, 2025

ED Removes Income-based Repayment and Loan Consolidation Applications from its Website
 
The Trump administration’s Department of Education (ED) removed access to online applications for student loan borrowers seeking income-driven repayment (IDR) and loan consolidation. IDR plans allow borrowers to make payments based on their income, with loan forgiveness granted after 20 or 25 years. The direct consolidation loan application helps borrowers streamline their loans and qualify for programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).
 
The sudden removal of these applications appears to be a response to a Feb. 18 ruling [ [link removed] ] by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which extended an injunction blocking lower payments and forgiveness under multiple IDR plans. The court sided with Republican State Attorneys General when ruling that former President Joe Biden's administration lacked authority to pursue a student debt relief program, known as the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, designed to lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers and speed up loan forgiveness for some.
 
The three-judge panel held that ED exceeded its authority by trying to use a Higher Education Act provision that allows for income-based loan repayment plans to adopt debt forgiveness on the scale provided by Biden’s SAVE Plan. Specifically, the court ruled that the Biden administration had “gone well beyond this authority by designing a plan where loans are largely forgiven rather than repaid.”
 
The injunction specifically affects the SAVE plan and other IDR plans, such as income-contingent repayment (ICR) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE)—all of which were designed to provide affordable repayment options and forgiveness opportunities. However, income-based repayment (IBR) plan, which was established by Congress, remains unaffected, though applications for the IBR plan are also currently not available on ED’s website.
 
Although the court has not fully overturned the SAVE plan or other IDR options, the ruling suggests that these programs face significant legal uncertainty. Forgiveness under ICR and PAYE is now at serious risk.
 
It is unclear whether the removal of the online applications signals a complete halt to processing IDR and consolidation applications, leaving borrowers in limbo regarding their repayment and forgiveness options.

DEI Executive Orders Temporarily Blocked
 
Last week, in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education et al. v. Trump et al., [ [link removed] ] U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson of the District of Maryland ruled [ [link removed] ] that President Trump’s executive orders (EOs) targeting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives were too vague and infringed upon free speech.
 
The court issued a nationwide injunction, temporarily preventing enforcement of three key provisions of two EOs, EO 14151 [ [link removed] ] , “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” and EO 14173 [ [link removed] ] , “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” which targets DEI programs. Specifically, the court found the following provisions were unconstitutional under the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution:
 • The requirement that federal contractors and grantees certify that they do not operate “illegal” DEI programs and comply with federal discrimination laws for purposes of False Claims Act (“FCA”);
 • A provision directing the Attorney General to target what this administration believes to be “illegal” DEI programs in the private sector; and
 • The requirement that federal agencies terminate “equity-related grants or contracts.”

The ruling effectively blocks the implementation of Trump’s directive, which had ordered federal agencies and grant recipients to eliminate DEI offices, positions and funding related to equity-focused initiatives.
 
The court’s preliminary injunction only blocks the provisions of the two executive orders contested in the lawsuit. It does not pause other elements of the orders.
 
Abelson noted that the orders in question failed to define key terms such as “DEI,” “equity-related” and “illegal DEI and DEIA policies,” making it unclear what actions would be considered violations. As a result, federal employees and recipients of government grants lacked clarity on whether their work, contracts or speech would be deemed noncompliant under the administration’s policies.
 
He illustrated the confusion with a hypothetical example, suggesting that even a government grant used to repair potholes in a low-income neighborhood could be interpreted as an "equity-related" initiative and thus be at risk. This ambiguity, according to Abelson, placed individuals and organizations in a position where they could not reasonably determine what actions would be permissible.
 
On Feb. 24, the Trump administration filed a notice of appeal to the Fourth Circuit. Currently, no request to stay the enforcement of the district court’s order has been filed.

Utah Sends Bill Banning Fluoride in Public Water Systems to Governor; Bill to Make Fluoride Optional Passes Kentucky House
 
The Utah State Legislature has voted to send a bill [ [link removed] ] to Gov. Spencer Cox (R) that would prohibit adding fluoride [ [link removed] ] to public water systems.
 
In Kentucky, legislation [ [link removed] ] that would remove requirements for local water systems to include fluoride has passed the state House of Representatives. Under the bill, governing bodies of water systems would be permitted to decide if they would like to participate in community water fluoridation programs.
 
Supporters of removing fluoride from community water have argued that fluoridation poses potential health risks and that individuals—not the government—should decide whether to consume fluoride. Among the health concerns that have been asserted are worries about neurological effects on fetuses and young children. These concerns are largely based on findings from a review paper [ [link removed] ] that found a possible link between lower IQ scores in children and high levels of fluoride in drinking water. The review relied on studies that were conducted in countries that have community water fluoridation levels that are significantly higher than those recommended for community water in the United States. A recent study [ [link removed] ] conducted in Australia, where community water fluoridation levels are closer to those find in the United States, found “consistent evidence that early childhood exposure to fluoride does not have effects on cognitive neurodevelopment.”
 
Opponents, including dentists and public health experts, warn that banning fluoride could have serious consequences, particularly for low-income communities with limited access to dental care. They argue that fluoridation has been instrumental in reducing tooth decay for decades and emphasize that Utah law requires any decision to add or remove fluoride from public water systems to be made through a vote of the people, not legislative action.
 
For more resources about fluoride, please refer to ADEA’s community water fluoridation webpage [ [link removed] ] .

Oral Preventive Assistant Bill Passes Arizona Senate
 
The Arizona Senate has passed a bill [ [link removed] ] that would create a new oral health professional in the state, known as an Oral Preventive Assistant (OPA). Under the bill, a dental assistant who has completed additional training and meets specified requirements would be permitted to remove plaque, calculus and stains, with scalers or sonic or ultrasonic scaling devices, on patients who have first received a periodontal evaluation by a dentist or dental hygienist.
 
In order to meet the training requirements to become an OPA, a dental assistant must:
 • Complete a board-approved oral preventive assistant training course that includes at least 120 hours of didactic and clinical instruction with patients and that is provided by a qualifying institution;
 • Hold a current certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
 • Hold a board-approved certification for both coronal polishing and radiography; and
 • Either hold a current national board certification in dental assisting or have successfully completed a dental assisting educational program accredited by a state or national organization that accredits dental programs.

Additional limitations for OPAs under the bill include:
 • An OPA would be limited to practicing only on periodontally healthy patients or patients with localized mild gingivitis.
 • An OPA would be prohibited from using any air polishing technology or device or practice on patients who have been treated for periodontal disease, have generalized recession, are medically compromised or are under sedation.
 • An OPA would only be permitted to practice in under the direct supervision of a dentist or dental hygienist.

The bill will be sent to the House for consideration.

ADEA/AADOCR/Friends of NIDCR Advocacy Day 2025!
 
From Wednesday, April 2, 2025, through Thursday, April 3, 2025, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) and the Friends of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (FNIDCR) will come together for Advocacy Day 2025 in Washington, DC.
 
This in-person event on Capitol Hill will include:
 • A legislative briefing and advocacy training featuring expert speakers.
 • Opportunities to meet with targeted congressional offices, including the chance to connect with your own elected officials.

Advocacy Day is your chance to help shape the future of dental, oral and craniofacial research and education. Don’t miss this opportunity to make your voice heard!
 
The deadline to register for Advocacy Day is March 7, 2025.
 
Please encourage faculty, researchers and students at your institution to participate. Interested faculty, researchers and students can register online [ [link removed] ] .

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NOTICE:
Please note that there will be no ADEA Advocate during the week of March 10, as we will be attending the ADEA Annual Session and Exhibition at National Harbor, Maryland, just outside of our Nation’s Capital. If you need an advocacy update, feel free to stop by and get one in person! We’ll see you the following week.

ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
 
Issues and Resources
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
 • ADEA policy brief [ [link removed] ] regarding overprescription of antibiotics
 • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2025
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Senior Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ]

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