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Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced it would not distribute millions of dollars in grants for Minority-Serving Institutions, including more than $200 million in already-appropriated funding for Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs.

At least 25% of students at all of San Antonio’s major colleges and universities are Hispanic, making them eligible to apply for HSI grants. Several San Antonio colleges were awarded HSI grants in recent years and were expecting this year’s allocation as usual.

In a normal year, grant funding would be distributed on an annual basis according to fiscal years, but with two weeks left in the federal fiscal year, this year’s funding has not yet been distributed, and, according to the Ed. Dept., will now be redistributed into other programs “that do not include discriminatory racial and ethnic quotas and that advance Administration priorities.”

In a statement announcing the end of the grant funding, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said they were discriminatory because they were based on a race quota.

“Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States,” McMahon said. “The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to support 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.” 

The cuts follow a lawsuit brought by Students for Fair Admissions, the organization behind the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case that ended race-conscious admissions. In July, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed with the plaintiffs’ position that the eligibility criteria for HSI grants were unconstitutional and said it would not defend the grants.

However, the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities disagrees with that position. They filed a petition to intervene in the lawsuit in July and said last week they would continue to fight.

“Cutting this funding strips away critical investments in under-resourced and first-generation students and will destabilize colleges in 29 states,” said David Mendez, HACU Interim CEO in a statement Sept. 10. “This is not just a budget cut, it is an attack on equity in higher education. The funds granted to HSIs have never supported only Latino students. These funds strengthen entire campuses, creating opportunities and resources that benefit all students, especially those pursuing STEM fields, as well as enhancing the communities where these colleges and universities are located.”

HACU was founded in San Antonio and is headquartered here.

Palo Alto College, the University of Texas at San Antonio, UT Health Science Center, Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio College, University of the Incarnate Word, Schreiner University, St. Mary’s University, and Texas State University were all awarded HSI grants within the last three years.

The Ed. Dept. had not announced new FY 2025 award recipients before making the cuts. In addition to cutting HSI grants, the Ed. Dept is also cutting funding for other Minority-Serving Institution grants, including funding for Predominantly Black, Native American, Asian American, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions.

According to the Ed. Dept., it is withholding a total of $350 million in funds Congress appropriated for FY 2025 grants. The department considers these funds discretionary and said it would still distribute $132 million in mandatory funds for Minority-Serving Institutions this year.

TPR has reached out to San Antonio’s colleges and universities for comment on the cuts, and for a rundown of how much money they were expecting to receive in HSI grants.

“As a system of five Hispanic-Serving Institutions, the Alamo Colleges District is closely reviewing the recent developments and assessing potential impacts on our students and our colleges,” officials at Alamo Colleges said in a statement. “It is still too early to determine what this may mean for our organization, but we remain committed to student success and ensuring that our learners continue to have access to the resources and support they need to thrive.”

St. Mary’s University also said they were in a holding pattern.

“We are awaiting additional information to determine the impact of the recent announcement,” President Winston Erevelles said in a statement. “St. Mary’s University has been welcoming students from all faith traditions, backgrounds and economic strata since 1852. We remain firmly committed to providing an outstanding education that provides a pathway for all our students to succeed in their professions and lead through service to their communities.”

According to an email sent to faculty and staff, Our Lady of the Lake University has had four HSI grants discontinued.

“This news is disturbing and has consequences for OLLU, our students, our faculty, and our staff,” the email said. “As the birthplace of HACU, OLLU remains committed to determining the amount of unobligated funds remaining for each grant, requesting carry-over extensions, and identifying our greatest priorities for those funds. We are developing staffing and budget plans for each grant to ensure priorities are met.”

HSI discretionary grants are awarded in five-year increments, with a maximum of $600,000 per grant each year.

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.