DOJ Report Compounds MSI Advocates' Worries

"Minority-serving institutions sustained another blow after the U.S. Department of Justice released a December legal report declaring funding to many of these institutions as unconstitutional. That memo could reach further than the Education Department's move to defund some of these programs, ramping up uncertainty for the institutions. Much like the Education Department in September, the DOJ argued these programs are unconstitutional because they require colleges to enroll a certain percentage of students from a particular racial or ethnic background to qualify, among other criteria."

"ED ultimately redirected hundreds of millions of dollars intended for Hispanic-serving institutions and other MSIs for fiscal year 2025; it remains unclear whether the DOJ memo will result in more of the same. But the 48-page document offers new insight into the dangers a wide range of MSI grant programs could be facing and how the administration is legally justifying its stance against the institutions."

"Similar to ED, the report by the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel uses an expansive interpretation of the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard that barred considering race in admissions. But the DOJ went further and called into question not just discretionary dollars but also congressionally mandated funds to MSIs, said Amanda Fuchs Miller, former deputy assistant secretary for higher education programs in the Biden administration and now president of the higher ed consultancy Seventh Street Strategies."

Federal legal action now targets funding for minority-serving institutions, with a Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel memo declaring many MSI programs unconstitutional. The memo applies an expansive reading of the Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision and challenges programs that condition eligibility on student racial or ethnic percentages. The Education Department previously redirected hundreds of millions of dollars away from Hispanic-serving institutions and some MSIs for fiscal year 2025. The DOJ memo raises the prospect of further defunding by questioning both discretionary grants and congressionally mandated funds, signaling heightened risk and legal justification for broader cuts.

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