Tennessee Attorney General Johnathan Skrmetti partnered with Students for Fair Admission, an activism group made up of parents and students, to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education today. The suit alleges the department's Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) division violates the Constitution by awarding grants to colleges and universities based on the proportion of Hispanic students they enroll.
“A federal grant system that openly discriminates against students based on ethnicity isn’t just wrong and un-American—it’s unconstitutional,” Skrmetti said. “Treating people differently because of their skin color and ancestry drags our country backwards. The HSI program perversely deprives even needy Hispanic students of the benefits of this funding if they attend institutions that don’t meet the government’s arbitrary quota.”
The Department of Education formalized the HSI division in the 1990s after Title V of the Higher Education Act was ratified by Congress. According to their website, the division’s mission is to, “assist HSIs in expanding educational opportunities for, and improving the academic attainment of, Hispanic and low-income students.”
An HSI is defined as any institution which has an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 25% Hispanic. The lawsuit mentions that all of Tennessee’s publicly-funded higher education institutions enrolls Hispanic students, but that none of them are eligible for grant funds because they don’t meet the 25% threshold.
“Every one of them serves Hispanic students,” the suit reads. “But not one of them qualifies to receive grants under the HSI program. Why? Because they don’t have the right mix of ethnicities on campus.”
About 7% of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s undergraduate students identify as Hispanic. At East Tennessee State University, it’s 4%. That’s remained largely unchanged since HSI emerged in the 90s.
In 2021, Southern Adventist University became the only institution in Tennessee to qualify for HSI funds with an enrollment of 2,719 students – or about 27% of their undergraduate student body – who identified as Hispanic. They currently receive $600,000 each year from the program as part of a grant to help bolster STEM programs and to provide financial aid to Hispanic students in need.
"[This] grant allows the university to strengthen support services, implement institutional changes, and improve learning opportunities for all students," said Southern Adventist University Editorial Manager Becky Brooks in a statement. "It also allows us to encourage all high school students, with an emphasis on the underserved, to take appropriate high school courses and then choose STEM degrees at higher education institutions of their choice."
The Department of Education awards the most HSI grants to schools in California and Texas, where Hispanic populations are high. According to data from the Department of Education, over 500 schools qualify as HSIs in the U.S.
If the courts rule in Tennessee’s favor, the HSI division’s 25% enrollment requirement would be ruled unconstitutional, opening up the grant application process to hundreds of other institutions across the country. It’s unclear how the Department of Education would handle such a surge of applicants, as the HSI division currently maintains a staff of six people, and is likely facing the prospects of cuts after President Donald Trump announced his intention to dissolve the department earlier this year.
