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EdTrust-West Statement on the U.S. Department of Education’s Cancellation of Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) Grant Programs
Today, we denounce in the strongest terms the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to eliminate over $350 million in discretionary funding for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), including Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), and others.
In California alone, dozens of public colleges and universities are MSIs that educate tens of thousands of first-generation, low-income, and racially diverse students. Cutting their funding undermines our state’s economic trajectory and the futures of Black, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native American students who rely on MSI grant-funded programs for access, support, and success.
We call on Congress, state leaders, and higher education institutions to denounce this regressive move and demand the immediate restoration of MSI funding. In the absence of federal leadership, we urge California’s policymakers to provide state funding to protect and expand support for Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), and California’s Black-Serving Institutions (BSIs).
EdTrust-West stands in solidarity with California’s MSIs and the communities they serve. We will not be silent as decades of progress are dismantled under the guise of neutrality.
About EdTrust-West
EdTrust-West is an evidence-driven advocacy organization committed to advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in California’s education system. For over two decades, EdTrust-West has worked to improve racial equity in education by engaging diverse communities and increasing political and public will to build an education system where students of color and multilingual learners will thrive. For more information, see www.edtrustwest.org.
