Department of Education ends funding to several MSI grant programs

The U.S. Department of Education announced Sept. 10 that it will end discretionary funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions grant programs, citing unconstitutional racial quotas. The decision follows a July determination by the U.S. Solicitor General that Hispanic-Serving Institutions programs violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.

According to the Department of Education, about $350 million in fiscal year 2025 discretionary funds will be reallocated to programs that do not have racial or ethnic quotas. Programs affected include Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions and Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions.