Montgomery College will remain eligible as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, but sweeping federal policy changes have stripped the college of access to millions in discretionary grant funding previously available to minority-serving educational institutions.
The college exceeds the federal requirement that at least 25% of enrolled students identify as Hispanic or Latino. Latino students currently make up 29.8% of Montgomery College’s student body, solidifying its position as Maryland’s first and only HSI.
However, the U.S. Department of Education recently announced it would end discretionary funding for several Minority-Serving Institution programs, including grants that specifically impacted Hispanic Serving Institutions.
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said that the decision was made to further the department’s commitment to end “discrimination in all forms” and that it will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants “that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
Federal officials said the programs relied on racial and ethnic enrollment quotas that the U.S. Department of Justice determined violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
The decision eliminated about $350 million in national discretionary funding for fiscal year 2025 and, thus, affected current academic year.
Montgomery College officials said the move abruptly halted two institutional development grants that were already in the pipeline.
Despite the financial setback, college leaders said they remain committed to supporting Latino and other underrepresented students through local initiatives and campus reforms.
“That means meeting students where they are,” Montgomery College President Jermaine Williams said in an article in Maryland Matters. “That means listening to students and the residents who we seek to serve to identify what their lived experiences have been.”
Administrators said the college plans to invest local resources into bilingual academic counseling, faculty recruitment pipelines and culturally responsive curriculum development while federal funding remains unavailable.
This is a developing story. MCM News will have a full report on the coming days.
