Trump administration to end funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions, affecting many California colleges

This article first appeared in EdSource The U S Department of Learning explained Wednesday it is ending a grant plan for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and several similar programs a decision expected to sap funding from California colleges and universities that are eligible for extra federal dollars because they enroll high numbers of Latino students Campuses earn a Hispanic-Serving Institution designation by having an undergraduate apprentice body that is at least Latino California has such institutions more than any other state including five University of California campuses California State University campuses and majority of the state s neighborhood colleges The designation allows those colleges to apply for the grants which are competitive and not guaranteed to all HSIs Together California institutions have received more than million in HSI grants since the venture s inception in CSU Chancellor Mildred Garc a commented in a declaration that ending the HSI grant activity will have an immediate impact and irreparable harm to our entire group CSU campuses have used grants to help more students graduate faster increase the number of low-income students in STEM majors and even train faculty in culturally responsive pedagogy Without this funding students will lose the critical encouragement they need to succeed in the classroom complete their degrees on time and achieve social mobility for themselves and their families she revealed U S Secretary of Mentoring Linda McMahon mentioned grants for HSIs and other minority-serving institutions discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas and called them unconstitutional The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to aid 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 McMahon added in a announcement In total the department noted it will hold back million in grant funding that was budgeted for fiscal year Most of of that would have gone to HSIs but various of it also would have been allocated to grant programs for colleges enrolling high numbers of Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian students Asian American students and Black students Earlier this year the state of Tennessee and the anti-affirmative action organization Students for Fair Admissions filed a lawsuit in U S district court challenging the HSI grant effort The lawsuit argues that the criteria to become an HSI are unconstitutional and that all colleges serving low-income students should be able to apply for the grants available to HSIs The U S Department of Justice later decided not to defend the project against the lawsuit with U S Solicitor General D John Sauer writing to House Speaker Mike Johnson in July that HSI programs violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment s Due Process Clause Proponents of HSIs argue that the venture and grant funding are not discriminatory because grants for HSIs are meant to be spent on initiatives that could benefit any aspirant at the college not just Hispanic students That s the episode across the -campus CSU system according to Garc a who announced in a declaration that HSI grant funding not only helps advance the CSU s educational mission but it also supports CSU s efforts to carry out our core values of inclusive excellence social mobility authentic access to higher development and equity in all its dimensions The CSU remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that all students continue to have access to affordable high-quality higher tuition she added EdSource is California s largest independent newsroom focused on Mentoring