- Hispanic-Serving Institutions program challenged in court
- AACC joins amicus brief supporting Harvard University’s suit against the Trump Administration
- ICYMI: Trump administration aims to transfer CTE programs to DOL
Hispanic-Serving Institutions program challenged in court
The state of Tennessee and Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) recently sued the U.S. Education Department (ED), arguing that the eligibility requirements for the Higher Education Act (HEA) Title V Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) program represent illegal discrimination based on race. The HSI program provides institutional aid to colleges that have a full-time equivalency enrollment of at least 25% Hispanic students. Like other institutional aid programs, colleges and universities must also meet criteria around institutional resources and the share of students receiving need-based aid.
Tennessee’s participation in the HSI suit is based, in part, on the fact that none of the state’s otherwise eligible public institutions of higher education meet the HSI criterion of enrolling at least 25% Hispanic students.
The suit seeks a permanent injunction to stop ED from applying the HSI program’s ethnicity-based requirements in determining eligibility. Read more on the suit in the Community College Daily.
AACC joins amicus brief supporting Harvard’s suit against the Trump administration
AACC has joined the American Council on Education (ACE) and 26 other organizations in filing an amicus brief supporting Harvard University’s lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s cancellation of their federal research grants.
While the brief supports Harvard’s position requesting relief, citing arguments based on the First Amendment, separation of powers and due process, the document makes much broader points about how actions taken against Harvard represent attacks on institutional autonomy and undercut established processes for ensuring institutional compliance with federal laws.
A hearing is scheduled for July 21. Read more on the amicus brief in the Community College Daily.
Trump administration aims to transfer CTE programs to DOL
A Trump administration plan to shift career and technical education (CTE) programs from the U.S. Education Department (ED) to the Department of Labor (DOL) was disclosed as part of a legal proceeding. The interagency agreement would move both Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act programs and adult education programs to DOL, prompting opposition from CTE advocates, including the Association for Career and Technical Education and Advance CTE, who fear that the move will cause additional burden and confusion.
House and Senate Democrats last week sent a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, emphasizing that such a move would require a change in statute (See Community College Daily for more). While the proposed portfolio shift is certainly a part of the administration’s larger effort to diminish ED, congressional Democrats also expressed concern that the administration will convert all existing CTE and adult education programs into WIOA-like short-term workforce programs.
The plan is on hold as part of a preliminary injunction that has prevented the administration from taking further action to dismantle ED, including the firing of more than 1,400 department employees and an agreement with the Treasury Department around student loans. The administration is seeking emergency relief at the Supreme Court.