Education Dept. Ends Minority Serving Institution Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, Dec. 19, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced the end of all grant programs aimed at helping minority students achieve higher education.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Council (OLC) had previously issued an opinion declaring the Department of Education’s Minority Serving Institution Programs are unconstitutional. McMahon agreed.
“I agree with the Office of Legal Counsel opinion, which confirms that using race quotas and preferences to determine eligibility for federal education funding programs is unconstitutional,” said McMahon in a statement. “We cannot, and must not, attach race-based conditions when allocating taxpayer funding. This is another concrete step from the Trump Administration to put a stop to DEI in government and ensure taxpayer dollars support programs that advance merit and fairness in all aspects of Americans lives. The Department of Education looks forward to working with Congress to reform these programs.”
The affected programs include:
• Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions
• Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans
• Hispanic Serving Institutions–Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs
• Native American Serving Non-Tribal Institutions
• Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions
• Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program
• Predominantly Black Institutions formula grants
• Predominantly Black Institutions competitive grants
• The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program
• Student Support Services
• Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
• Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program
In July, the U.S. Solicitor General determined that Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) programs “violate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause,” and that the Department of Justice would not defend them in litigation brought against the Department by Students for Fair Admissions and the State of Tennessee.
The Department of Education asked OLC to assess whether higher education programs that determine institutional eligibility for benefits based on race are unconstitutional in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.
In September, the Department of Education announced that it would reprogram the money that had formerly been appropriated to MSI programs to other programs. At that time, the Education Department had already disbursed approximately $132 million in mandatory funding; the Department’s announcement claims that as it winds down the programs serving minority populations, it does not intend to claw back money granted from prior fiscal years.
OLC issued its opinion on December 2, 2025, ruling that the MSI programs are unconstitutional because they are disbursed based on race.
Illinois Congressman Danny K. Davis issued a statement criticizing the DOJ’s legal opinion.
“Today’s action by the Department of Justice denies both the constitutionality and the necessity of targeted, compensatory efforts designed to expand educational access for Black, Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, and other historically marginalized communities,” said Davis, D-Illinois.
“This decision wipes away formal recognition of the very real and well-documented legacy of racism, slavery, Jim Crow segregation, systemic poverty, and structural barriers that continue to shape educational opportunity in America,” Davis continued. “To suggest — by any stretch of the imagination — that the playing field in education is equal is simply false.”
Minority Serving Institutions serve roughly five million students — nearly one-third of all undergraduates in the country.
“These institutions are not symbolic. They are proven engines of economic mobility. They meet students where they are, support low-income and first-generation students, and strengthen entire communities,” said Davis. “When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Higher Education Act, he made clear that no student should be turned away from college because their family is poor. Today’s actions are deeply at odds with that promise.”