NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — The Trump administration decides not the back a federal program giving money to colleges and universities to help Hispanic students graduate.
The decision follows the State of Tennessee suing the U.S. Department of Education.
The Tennessee Attorney General told FOX 17 News the funding program is unconstitutional.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, or HACU, denies this and said Congress established the program.
Helping Latinos graduate from colleges and universities has been the goal of the HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institutions) program since 1998. Congress first recognized HSIs in 1992; the Title V grant program began in 1998.
Studies show Hispanic students have low graduation rates.
But now a lawsuit is challenging that $350 million in federal funding.
The Trump administration and the Department of Justice announced Friday that they will not defend the program from the lawsuit.
The state of Tennessee and an anti-affirmative action group, Students for Fair Admissions, filed it in June against the US Department of Education.
“Why wasn’t it brought up before, even during the previous Trump administration?” I asked the Tennessee Attorney General, Jonathan Skrmetti.
“I mean, the reason the case came down is because we have students for fair admissions, the US Supreme Court case that makes very clear that you can’t use racial criteria in higher education,” said Skrmetti.
Critics argue the program creates financial incentives for affirmative action, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2023.
“We want to make sure that everybody’s competing on a level playing field,” said Skrmetti.
Currently, colleges and universities only qualify for the money if at least 25 percent of students enrolled are Hispanic.
In Tennessee, only Southern Adventist University meets the criteria and received a 3-million-dollar grant over 5 years.
“What ends up happening is if there’s going to be some kids that will not get served at all,” said JC Bowman, CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee.
HACU is fighting the lawsuit and sent us a statement that reads in part:
“This lawsuit is a direct attempt to erase programs that remedy racial and ethnic disparities and strip away essential resources from institutions that serve Latino students.”
But we have some questions about the success of the HSI program.
We asked the spokesperson of Southern Adventist University how many students who benefited from the grant graduated.
We are waiting to hear back.
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