U.S. Department of Education Ends Funding to Racially Discriminatory Discretionary Grant Programs at Minority-Serving Institutions

Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced that it will end discretionary funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) grant programs that discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas. This action follows the U.S. Solicitor General's determination in July that the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) programs "violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause," and that the Department of Justice would not defend them in ongoing litigation.

The Department agrees that the racial quotas in the HSI programs are unconstitutional. Due to similar issues with all MSI programs, the Department is using its statutory authority to reprogram discretionary funds to programs that do not present such concerns.

"Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States. To further our commitment to ending discrimination in all forms across federally supported programs, the Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas," said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. "Diversity is not merely the presence of a skin color. Stereotyping an individual based on immutable characteristics diminishes the full picture of that person's life and contributions, including their character, resiliency, and merit. The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to support institutions that serve underprepared or under-resourced students without relying on race quotas and will continue fighting to ensure that students are judged as individuals, not prejudged by their membership of a racial group."

The discretionary grant programs that the Department will cease to fund will include both 2025 new awards and non-competing continuations, and the Department will reprogram funding from the following:

• Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Minority Science and Engineering Improvement (Title III Part E);
• Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V Part A); and
• Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (Title V Part B).

Approximately $350 million in discretionary funds were expected to be allocated to support these programs in fiscal year 2025. These funds will be reprogrammed into programs that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities.

Background:

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, restricts institutional eligibility for certain discretionary and mandatory grant programs based upon racial and ethnic preferences and quotas in the student body. For instance:

• Eligibility for grants under the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement program requires maintaining a majority minority student body (i.e., a minimum of 50 percent);
• The Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions program eligibility requires a minimum of 40 percent Black student enrollment;
• Eligibility for Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions, Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans, and Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions - Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs requires institutions to maintain student enrollment of at least 25 percent of Hispanic students; and
• Eligibility for Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, and Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions programs is tied to various quota levels, including 20 percent of Alaska Natives and 10 percent of Native Hawaiians, 10 percent Asian Americans or Native American Pacific Islanders, or 10 percent Native Americans.

Grant recipients will be notified today that existing discretionary awards will be non-continued, and applicants for new grants will be notified that the competitions will not make any new awards for fiscal year 2025. The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to support underprepared or under-resourced students without relying on race and ethnic quotas.

While discretionary program funding for fiscal year 2025 will be reprogrammed to support other priorities, the Department will disperse approximately $132 million in mandatory funds appropriated by Congress that cannot be reprogrammed on a statutory basis. Programs receiving mandatory funds include:

• Strengthening Alaska Native- and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Title III Part F);
• Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (Title III Part F);
• Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Title III Part F);
• Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Title III Part F); and Developing HSI Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs (Title III Part F).

The Department continues to consider the underlying legal issues associated with the mandatory funding mechanism in these programs.

Contact