Trump shifts millions of dollars to HBCUs and tribal schools amid deep education cuts

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration says it will reallocate nearly $500 million in additional funding to historically Black colleges and universities and tribal campuses as it slashes grant programs for other minority students. 

The Department of Education announced the plans Sept. 15 as part of its effort to redirect money toward President Donald Trump's chief priorities. The department also plans to award $500 million in grants to charter schools and will invest more than $160 million in American history and civics education programs. In its announcement, the agency cited a report Sept. 9 showing declines in K-12 student achievement as a reason for the additional charter school grants.

"Today, the Department is making three massive investments – redirecting financial support away from ineffective and discriminatory programs toward those which support student success," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.

The move comes days after the administration said it was withholding more than $350 million in grants to Minority-Serving Institutions, including colleges and universities that serve large populations of Hispanic students, arguing that awarding grants based on racial and ethnic enrollment is unconstitutional. The cuts targeted grants for institutions serving Alaska and Hawaiian natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanic and Black students.

Trump has long called for the dismantling of the Department of Education; in February he told McMahon he wanted her to "put herself out of a job," a move that would require the support of Congress. The president has sought other methods of decreasing the Education Department's power, including proposing a 15% funding decrease for the agency in his 2026 budget proposal.

The additional funding pushes the Trump administration's 2025 investment in historically Black colleges and universities to more than $1.34 billion and the total for tribal colleges, which are often controlled by Native American tribes, to more than $108 million, the release said.

UNCF, a nonprofit that funds scholarships for Black students, applauded the administration's reappropriation of funds, noting that HBCUs have historically been underfunded.

Lodriquez Murray, senior vice president for public policy and government affairs at the organization, described the move as "nothing short of a godsend for HBCUs" and said it would be used to help schools acquire property, build and maintain facilities, buy laboratory equipment, support students and faculty, and address other needs.

What does the funding mean for students?

Democrats and other college leaders have sharply criticized the administration's changes. Amanda Fuchs Miller, deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs under President Joe Biden, argued in a LinkedIn post Sept. 15 that the funding changes had surpassed the Education Department's authority.

"Congress directs how funding is spent. The Executive Branch implements it. The role of the Department of Ed in these grant programs is to shape them to move their priorities forward," Miller said. "It is not to just decide that authorized and appropriated programs shouldn't be funded and to take that money and give it elsewhere for political reasons."

After finding that Latino students attended college far less often than their White peers, Congress created the Hispanic Serving Institution program in 1998 to provide grants to colleges and universities where at least 25% of full-time enrollees are Hispanic.

Deborah Santiago, who leads Excelencia in Education, an organization focused on Latino student success, said she believes the Education Department's funding reallocation is a constitutional issue.

Mamie Voight, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, echoed that sentiment and expressed concern that the changes pitted "resources for one community against resources for another." The "quick changes" to competitive grant programs for Hispanic-serving colleges and other organizations could have "damaging effects for students," she said.

The decrease in grant money will force colleges and universities to decide how to reallocate resources and navigate under new funding restraints.

"This could present real challenges for the students pursuing their education" and for universities that will no longer receive the grants, Voight said.

Trump aims to promote 'excellence' at HBCUs

McMahon defended reallocation of money, saying the agency "carefully scrutinized our federal grants, ensuring that taxpayers are not funding racially discriminatory programs but those programs which promote merit and excellence in education."

"The Trump administration will use every available tool to meaningfully advance educational outcomes and ensure every American has the opportunity to succeed in life," she said.

Since his reelection, Trump has sought to align himself with Black colleges and universities as part of broader political efforts to court support from Black voters. In April, the president signed a largely symbolic executive order to "promote excellence and innovation" at HBCUs as he cut support for other minority-focused education programs.

The funding changes apply to the current year's budget, which is set to expire Sept. 30 unless Congress passes a new budget or stopgap funding package, also known as a continuing resolution.

Contributing: Zachary Schermele