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Texas colleges and universities were expecting nearly $60 million in grants for Hispanic-Serving Institutions by the end of this month until the U.S. Department of Education abruptly announced it would not distribute them.
According to a TPR analysis of the grants the Education Department said it was withholding, Hispanic-Serving Institutions in Texas received 98 grants worth a combined $57.7 million last year.
In an ordinary year, Texas colleges would expect to receive about the same amount again this year. More than $44 million in grants continued this year, and the remaining funding would ordinarily be awarded to new recipients, including Texas colleges. This year, the Education Department didn't announce new HSI recipients.
With one of the largest Hispanic populations in the country, many colleges in Texas are considered Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs. Any college with a student population that is at least 25% Hispanic are eligible to apply for the competitive, multi-year grants. The maximum HSI grant is $3 million, with $600,000 awarded annually for five years.
The Education Department said in a press release on September 10 that it was ending grants to Minority-Serving Institutions, including HSIs, because the grant programs "discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas."
As part of its rationale, the press release pointed to the Justice Department's decision in July not to defend the grants in a lawsuit brought by the state of Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions, the organization behind the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case that ended race-conscious admissions.
"Diversity is not merely the presence of a skin color. Stereotyping an individual based on immutable characteristics diminishes the full picture of that person's life and contributions, including their character, resiliency, and merit," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in the press release. "Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States."
However, supporters of the grants say the funding isn't discriminatory — ending it is.
David Méndez, interim CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, said the cuts are an attack on the 5.6 million students enrolled in Hispanic-Serving Institutions across the country.
"It is truly an attack and a draconian measure, without really considering all the nationwide implications that it's going to have immediately on students, but even for the next generations to come," Méndez said.
From the time HSI grants were first funded in 1995, Méndez said their purpose was to ensure the colleges had the means to support all of their students.
"It was understood that there was a group of institutions that certainly had that level of Latino enrollment, but that by themselves, they didn't have all the conditions, all the resources or the means to provide what was necessary for all their students to be successful in college, and certainly to graduate," Méndez said.
"It is not a matter about admissions requirements, as far as for favoring one group over the other," Méndez added. "When you look at Hispanic-Serving Institutions, they happen to be the most diverse across the nation. And when they recruit students, when they admit students, they never take into consideration their ethnic background."
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities was founded at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio in the early 1990s. Even today, OLLU is a frequent recipient of HSI grants.
According to TPR's analysis, OLLU currently has four HSI grants. Combined with grants awarded to other area colleges, San Antonio institutions are out nearly $10 million because of the Ed. Dept's withdrawal of funding for the grants.
Seventeen HSI grants have been awarded to eight San Antonio colleges and universities within the last five years. Sixteen of the 17 grants were slated to continue this year.
Our Lady of the Lake University had four HSI grants. St. Mary's University and the University of Texas at San Antonio each had three. Palo Alto College and Texas A&M University-San Antonio both had two grants. San Antonio College, the University of the Incarnate Word, and Wayland Baptist University had one.
Texas State University, Schreiner University in Kerrville, and Southwest Texas Junior College in Uvalde also had grants.
TPR's analysis focused on two specific grants listed in the Ed. Dept.'s announcement on September 10: Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V Part A) and Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (Title V Part B).
Many colleges have been hesitant to release specifics about the impact of the cuts, stating instead that they are waiting for more information.
"It is premature to estimate the impact of the reductions," UT San Antonio spokesperson Joe Izbrand said in an email September 16. "Specific details on the scope, structure, or funding totals have not yet been released."
"Additional details are forthcoming from the federal government. Until more information is available, we cannot determine how this may affect individual institutions or programs," Izbrand added. "We are closely monitoring developments and will evaluate potential implications once federal guidance is provided."
Priscilla Camacho, government relations liaison for the Alamo Colleges District, said the community college system is waiting for individual notices to come in from the Education Department for each grant.
Part of the issue, Camacho said, is that they're not confident the Ed. Dept. won't expand the scope beyond those two grants before the fiscal year ends on September 30. Alamo Colleges, for instance, has other HSI grants that weren't listed as discontinued.
"Until we get to the end of the month, we just want to make sure that those are not going to be impacted, because we do have two colleges with those grants," Camacho said. "So far, they have not received notices, and we're hoping that that stays that way."
Camacho said the bigger funding concern goes beyond the specific grants cut on September 10, encompassing a pattern of delays.
For instance, the Trump administration recently delayed releasing $660 million in funding for TRIO, a program that helps low-income and first-generation students to enroll in college and graduate.
"What we've seen from the department and from the administration is the delaying of releasing competitive grants that may or may not be aligned with what they're looking to do," Camacho said, adding that the clock runs out to disperse those funds by the end of the fiscal year.
"The part that we're worried about is how is this going to apply to other grants that we do compete for?" Camacho said. "Those are the kinds of things that keep us up at night, because we want to make sure that when we apply for (grants) and we are told that we're going to be appropriated funds, that those funds don't go away, because it's programming for students, it's personnel that we have hire to implement those programs."
Camacho said part of the reason the Trump administration has the flexibility to cancel and delay grant funding is because Congress never passed a FY 2025 budget.
"Because we've been operating on a Continuing Resolution, everything is then tied to FY 24 appropriations," Camacho said. "It's a very funky system at the federal level with regards to that, because then it puts in limbo all of these programs that are not statutorily required to be funded."
For that reason, Camacho said Congress is their best hope for regaining stable funding.
During a recent presentation to the Board of Trustees for the Alamo Colleges, Camacho told trustees that Congressman Henry Cuellar was able to "get an amendment about preserving HSI funding" in the House appropriations bill for FY 2026.
Camacho said the Senate version of the budget bill also include HSI funding.
"Whether you're Democrat or Republican, this is where urban and rural representatives really do come together, because these programs are absolutely critical to their residents," Camacho told trustees.
Even though the House appropriations bill includes some cuts to financial aid, Camacho said she's optimistic about advocating Congress to preserve higher education funding. The bigger concern, she said, is the uncertainty of further delays in passing a budget.
Five days after the Education Department announced the end of HSI grants, it announced it was using freed up grant funding to increase funding to charter schools, civics programs, Historically Black Colleges and Tribal Colleges.
"Today, the Department is making three massive investments — redirecting financial support away from ineffective and discriminatory programs toward those which support student success. We are proud to make the largest investment in the Charter Schools Grants Program in the Department's history, support American history programs that will inspire young people to be active and informed citizens, and recognize Historically Black Colleges and Universities' and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities' historic contributions to improving education and opportunity in our country," McMahon said in the September 15 press release.
Specifically, the press release said the Education Department was giving Historically Black Colleges and Tribal Colleges $495 million more than their original FY 2025 funding. That's sparked concerns that the Trump administration is using funds for Minority-Serving Institutions for colleges with historical designations instead.
The Ed. Dept. estimated that it was cutting $350 million in MSI grants on September 10. According to TPR's analysis, the two cut HSI grants are worth nearly $260 million nationwide.
San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro and 80 other U.S. representatives sent a letter to the education secretary on Monday urging her not to redirect funding intended for Minority-Serving Institutions.
"While we deeply value and support the role of HBCUs and TCUs play in advancing educational opportunities, shifting resources from Minority-Serving Institutions undermines the broader national commitment to serve all students," the letter said. "We urge you to reject efforts that pit these institutions against one another and instead champion comprehensive solutions that recognize the unique and complementary contributions of each."
Editor's note: The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, Alamo Colleges, Our Lady of the Lake University, Schreiner University, St. Mary's University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the University of the Incarnate Word are TPR sponsors. We cover them as we would any other organization.
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