The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) proposes to amend its regulations governing the 8(a) Business Development (8(a) BD) program to remove the rebuttable presumption that individuals belonging to certain designated groups are socially disadvantaged. SBA is removing the rebuttable presumption from its regulations following an Order by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee issued on July 19, 2023 (Court Order). The Court Order enjoined SBA from using the rebuttable presumption in administering the 8(a) BD program. As such, SBA can no longer use the rebuttable presumption to determine whether members of certain designated groups qualify as socially disadvantaged and now requires all individuals to establish that they are socially disadvantaged by a preponderance of the evidence. This proposed rule is intended to formalize this change in the Agency’s regulations.