The U.S. Department of Education will end discretionary funding to several Minority-Serving Institutions grant programs, including Hispanic-Serving Institutions, on the basis that these institutions discriminate by awarding government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas, according to a press release.
Cal Poly has been working toward Hispanic Serving Institution status, which required 25% Hispanic student enrollment for multiple years and a demonstrated high concentration of Pell Grant eligible students. Cal Poly hit the 25% threshold for the first time last year and 23% of enrolled students are Pell Grant eligible.
“The university remains committed to serving every student holistically, and our core values, services and dedication to student success remain steadfast,” university spokesperson Keegan Koberl said.
READ MORE: Cal Poly’s efforts to become a Hispanic Serving Institution
The department said the discretionary grant programs were projected to have $350 million in funding in 2025. The government will be reroute the funding into programs that do not include racial or ethnic quotas, according to the department.
The Department of Education will no longer fund Cal Poly’s designation as an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution, among other nationwide minority-serving programs.
“Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “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.”
Currently, the federal government has officially designated 21 Cal State campuses as Hispanic- Serving Institutions, all but Cal Poly and the Cal Poly Maritime Academy.
“The California State University is deeply troubled by the Trump Administration’s decision to end funding for the long-standing federal Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant program,” Cal State Chancellor Mildred García said in a press release. This action will have an immediate impact and irreparable harm to our entire community.”
READ MORE: What students wanted to see as Cal Poly hoped to become a Hispanic-Serving Institution
The Department of Education’s decision to end Minority-Serving Institutions grant programs follows the U.S. Solicitor General’s decision from July that these programs are unconstitutional, citing the Supreme Court. The court previously decided racial balancing efforts are unconstitutional due to the equal protections clause.
“[The court’s] precedents make clear the government lacks any legitimate interest in differentiating among universities based on whether a specified number of seats in each class are occupied by individuals from the preferred ethnic groups,” the Solicitor General John Sauer said.
California has over a hundred institutions designated as Hispanic-Serving, including five University of California campuses and most of the state’s community colleges. The state has received over $600 million in grants since the program’s inception, as reported by EdSource.