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(The Hill) — The Education Department announced Wednesday it is ending discretionary funding to multiple Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) grant programs.
The funding violated the law, according to the Trump administration, because it goes to institutions that “meet racial or ethnic quotas.”
“Discrimination based upon race or ethnicity has no place in the United States,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. “To further our commitment to ending discrimination in all forms across federally supported programs, the Department will no longer award Minority-Serving Institution grants that discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.”
“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,” she continued. “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 administration did not specify where the $350 million in discretionary funds expected for these programs will go.
“The Department looks forward to working with Congress to reenvision these programs to support underprepared or under-resourced students without relying on race and ethnic quotas,” the press release reads.
The department said it is also examining the “underlying legal issues” with mandatory funding that is dedicated to these institutions.
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