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The U.S. Department of Education announced that it will end discretionary funding for several Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) grant programs, citing constitutional concerns over eligibility requirements that rely on racial and ethnic quotas.
The decision comes after the U.S. Solicitor General determined in July that the Department’s Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) programs violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The Department of Justice said it would not defend those programs in ongoing litigation.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the Department reached the same conclusion and will no longer fund MSI programs that condition eligibility on the racial or ethnic composition of student enrollment. The Department will reprogram approximately $350 million in fiscal year 2025 discretionary funds into programs that do not include those requirements.
“Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States,” McMahon said in a statement. “The Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
McMahon added that the Department plans to work with Congress to redesign support programs for colleges and universities that primarily serve underprepared or under-resourced students, without tying funding to the racial or ethnic makeup of the student body.
The programs losing discretionary funding include: Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions; Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions; Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions; Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions; the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program; Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions; and Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
According to the Department, eligibility for these programs has historically required institutions to meet enrollment thresholds based on race or ethnicity. For example, eligibility for HSI programs required at least 25 percent Hispanic enrollment, Predominantly Black Institutions required at least 40 percent Black enrollment, and Minority Science and Engineering Improvement programs required at least a 50 percent minority student body. Other programs established quotas for Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Asian American, Native American Pacific Islander, and Native American student enrollment.
The Department said institutions currently receiving discretionary awards will be notified that those awards will not continue, and applicants for new awards will be informed that competitions will not make awards in fiscal year 2025.
While discretionary funding will be halted, about $132 million in mandatory funding appropriated by Congress will still be distributed to eligible institutions under Title III and Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Those funds include support for Alaska Native- and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions, Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions, and Developing HSI STEM and Articulation Programs.
The Department said it continues to review the legal issues surrounding the mandatory funding mechanism but does not have the authority to redirect those funds.
Critics of the MSI programs have long argued that tying federal funding to racial and ethnic enrollment amounts to discrimination. Supporters, however, have said the programs are vital for providing resources to colleges and universities that educate large numbers of first-generation, low-income, and minority students.
The announcement marks a significant shift in federal higher education policy, as MSI programs have been part of the Higher Education Act since 1965. The Department said it remains committed to diversity but emphasized that it will pursue approaches that are not based on race or ethnicity.
