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New York, NY – US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced today that the Department of Education will eliminate $350M in grants to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), concurring with the reasoning in a July letter from the Department of Justice to Congress that claimed that these grants are discriminatory and unconstitutional.
McMahon said that the federal government will also end grants to other minority-serving institutions (ie, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Asian American, and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions), wrongly claiming these grants “illegally restrict eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
The designation of Hispanic-Serving Institutions is given to colleges and universities that serve a population that includes 25% or more students of Latino descent. The designation is not connected to admission criteria or decisions.
In July, LatinoJustice PRLDEF filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), which represents more than 600 HSIs around the country through Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. U.S. Department of Education, a federal lawsuit that seeks to dismantle the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program. The Department of Justice declined defending the case.
HSIs enroll over 5.6 million students nationwide, including two-thirds of all Latino undergraduates in the country.
“The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other institutions serving underrepresented populations is a devastating blow that will harm millions of students,” said Francisca Fajana, Director of Racial Justice Strategy, LatinoJustice PRLDEF. “We can’t allow decades of progress to be erased. LatinoJustice and HACU will continue to fight alongside students and institutions to defend these essential programs and ensure that opportunity, equity and investment in higher education are not rolled back.”
“Cutting this funding strips away critical investments in under-resourced and first-generation students and will destabilize colleges in 29 states,” said David Mendez, Interim CEO, Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. “This is not just a budget cut, it is an attack on equity in higher education. The funds granted to HSIs have never supported only Latino students. These funds strengthen entire campuses, creating opportunities and resources that benefit all students, especially those pursuing STEM fields, as well as enhancing the communities where these colleges and universities are located.”
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About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For over 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout the country. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org
About HACU
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, founded in 1986, represents more than 500 colleges and universities in the United States, Latin America, Spain and school districts throughout the U.S. HACU programs and services are available to all students, faculty, and staff at HACU-member institutions. The Association’s headquarters are in San Antonio, Texas, with offices in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, California and Chicago, Illinois.
