The Future of Federal Funding at Hispanic-Serving Institutions

For decades, U.S. colleges and universities where at least 25% of undergrads are Hispanic have received federal grants to help them expand educational opportunities and improve graduation rates for Hispanic students. In September, however, the U.S. Department of Education slashed funding for these schools, formally designated as “Hispanic-serving institutions.” Meanwhile, a federal lawsuit making its way through the courts argues that distributing public money to higher education institutions based on their percentage of Hispanic students is discriminatory and violates the U.S. constitution.

In California alone, there are 167 Hispanic-serving institutions, or HSIs. They have received more than $600 million in grants since the federal program’s launch in 1995, the news outlet EdSource reported recently.

This free webinar focused on the fate of hundreds of public and private colleges and universities, which, together, serve most of the nation’s Hispanic undergraduate students. During the webinar, guest speakers:

• Examined academic research on HSIs, including how well they serve Hispanic students and students of various demographics.
• Explained how HSIs are responding to federal funding cuts and preparing for the possibility that the HSI program could change drastically.
• Provided an update on the federal lawsuit and potential developments that journalists should watch for.
• Discussed how the federal lawsuit could impact other higher education institutions that receive federal grants based on their percentage of students from other racial and ethnic minority groups.
• Shared key resources and tips to help journalists improve their coverage of HSIs.

The guest speakers were:

Daarel Burnette, a senior editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education who oversees news coverage of HSIs. He is also a member of the national Education Writers Association’s board of directors.

Dan Morenoff, executive director of The American Civil Rights Project, a nonprofit law firm representing parties to the federal lawsuit challenging HSI funding. He is also an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Anne-Marie Núñez, a professor at the University of Texas at El Paso who studies HSIs and Hispanics in higher education. She is also executive director of the Diana Natalicio Institute for Hispanic Student Success.

Denise-Marie Ordway, managing editor of The Journalist’s Resource, moderator. She also serves on the Education Writers Association’s board of directors.