September 12, 2025
CONTACT:
Graciela González
Director of Communications
ggonzalez@latinopolicyforum.org
312-728-4291
Latino Policy Forum Condemns Education Department Decision to End Funding Intended for Minority Serving Institutions
“This decision, under the pretense of race neutrality, undermines decades of progress toward equity and will only widen educational gaps when Illinois needs to close them.“
CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Education announced earlier this week it’s decision to end $350 million in discretionary funding to Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) grant programs. These programs award grants to colleges and universities that serve significant populations of Black, Native, Asian, and Latino students, have played a critical role in diversifying college campuses, opening pathways to degrees, leadership positions, and economic mobility for communities that have long been excluded from full participation in higher education. The potential funding cuts pose a significant threat to numerous Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) across the nation, particularly impacting the 39 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and 19 emerging HSIs located in Illinois.
“This decision, under the pretense of race neutrality, undermines decades of progress toward equity and will only widen educational gaps when Illinois needs to close them,” said Latino Policy Forum Director of Higher Education Policy, Jennifer Juarez, PhD. “College degrees are foundational to prosperous futures that benefit families for decades and MSIs have played a critical role in making higher education accessible for so many students from marginalized communities. We know that a college degree still leads to higher employment rates and earnings, better health outcomes, home ownership, and an increased likelihood of raising future college graduates. Equity-based policy is not preferential treatment; it is a necessary correction for centuries of exclusion and inequality. Real fairness requires recognizing and responding to unequal starting points, not pretending they don’t exist.”
The MSI designation was established to strengthen institutions with substantial minority student populations by providing capacity-building support to enhance academic quality, promote equitable access, and improve graduation rates at higher education institutions. For HSIs, 25% of the full-time undergraduate enrollment must be Latino to be eligible for the grants. While these institutions serve many students of color, MSIs also serve students from diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The MSI designation does not automatically qualify institutions for federal funding; they must compete for the grants by demonstrating the quality and impact of their proposed initiatives.
“The timing of this decision could hardly be worse,” added Juarez. “Many schools have already budgeted for the year and are now in the difficult position of possibly having to quickly fill funding gaps they weren’t expecting. This will have ripple effects not just on minority students, but on the entire student body and the educators and professionals that support them.”
Learn about the importance of higher education for Latino students in the state in the Latino Policy Forum’s Illinois Latino College Landscape Study.
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About the Latino Policy Forum
The Latino Policy Forum is the only organization in the Chicago area that facilitates the involvement of Latinos at all levels of public decision-making. The Forum conducts analysis to inform, influence and lead. Its goals are to improve education outcomes, advocate for affordable housing, promote just immigration policies, and engage diverse sectors of the community, with an understanding that advancing Latinos advances a shared future. For more information, visit www.latinopolicyforum.org.