A Call to Action: Supporting
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)
Over the past few months, the constitutionality of HSIs has been challenged and there have been mixed messages from all branches of the federal government as to higher education’s ability to serve all students, including Latino students. As Excelencia in Education continues our commitment to meet our mission with clarity and purpose in serving Latino, and all, students with intentionality, we see three primary areas that require being informed to compel action:
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Constitutional overreach: The Administration submitted its FY2026 budget request in May that level funds HSI programs, and both the Senate and House Appropriations Committees did the same as recently as last week. However, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) also announced last week that it would withhold Congressionally authorized and appropriated funds to institutions that had effectively competed for resources to provide a quality education. To be clear, the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) programs are still Constitutional and legal. Determining the Constitutionality of Congressional legislation is the responsibility of the Judicial branch, not the Executive branch. To stop funding and consider redistribution of Congressionally appropriated funds represents significant overreach from the Executive branch without regard to Congressional intent and due process for the hundreds of institutions and millions of students negatively impacted.
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All means all: While some believe a focus on race and ethnicity divides us as a society, Excelencia in Education believes that acknowledging racial and ethnic trends describes our society in constructive ways. The use of data to identify factors affecting the success of specific student populations establishes a base of information from which to develop more effective policies, invest limited public resources, engage diverse stakeholders, and inform institutional transformation to more intentionally serve the evolving profiles of all students.
As the fastest-growing segment of the college-going population, Latino students embody a post-traditional experience, navigating multiple pathways through higher education while balancing work, family, and other responsibilities. Institutional efforts that evolve to support their success advances higher education in ways that can benefit all students. However, to know if we are actually serving all, we need to disaggregate data; if we see gaps in access or attainment, we need to address these gaps to ensure access to opportunity and accountability for outcomes truly represents all students.
3
HSIs fulfill a national need for an educated citizenry and workforce: The HSI programs fulfill a clear federal responsibility articulated in the Higher Education Act to expand opportunities for students across the country. Further, the amount of federal funds allotted for competitive HSI grants are small relative to the transformational work invested for innovation that improve educational outcomes for all enrolled students, regardless of race. HSIs operate with fewer resources yet serve the fastest-growing segment of the college-age population. Supporting HSIs is therefore a strategic investment in America’s competitiveness, democracy, and shared prosperity. Ending HSI support would not erase racial disparities; it would ignore them and weaken the nation’s ability to develop the educated workforce and informed citizenry it needs.
Call to Action
Serving Latino, and all, students remains our shared goal to keep our country strong. Today’s challenges are happening on our watch and we must take action to ensure our students have access to the quality education they deserve to strengthen their families, communities, and country.
Contact your Congressional representative and let them know how this action is directly affecting your community, students, and families. If you don’t know who your representative is, look it up here. You can also call (202) 224-3121 to reach any congressional office.
Share the positive impact HSI funds have made and be explicit of what will change without funds with the media, your constituents, and with Excelencia so that we can all bring attention to the value provided with the limited federal investment made in your institution to provide access to a quality education. If you don’t know if there is an HSI in your area, review the HSI list here.
Inform and encourage your supporters, including community leaders, business partners, alumni, students, and others who also believe every student deserves equal opportunity to a quality education to reach out to their representatives on behalf of you and other institutions to put a voice to what will be lost if support of HSI funding is withdrawn. Your network of supporters has seen the impact your institutions have on students and the community.
Excelencia Taking Action
To support our community of common cause, Excelencia will also take action and continue to:
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Develop an agenda that includes new approaches to policy and practice that advances opportunity for Latinos and all.
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Articulate the value of intentionally serving Latino, and all, students to ensure equal opportunity and strengthen our communities, workforce and our country.
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Make the case about the importance of HSIs with data and promote the value add of limited federal resources in ensuring opportunity meets the talent in our communities.
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Promote the value of institutions that have earned the Seal of Excelencia. These are institutions taking responsibility and holding themselves accountable to intentionally serve Latino, and all, students to improve their access, persistence, degree attainment, and link to the workforce using data, practice, and leadership.
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Collaborate with other national organizations to offer resources and support to our communities.
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Inform philanthropy and funders of the current and evolving impact of federal decisions on the network and community and mobilize opportunities for financial support.
The Case for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs): Opportunity Meeting Talent
By: Deborah A. Santiago, CEO, Excelencia in Education
In recent weeks, we’ve seen the current administration refuse to defend and, later, seek to end funding for Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grant programs, arguing that they are racially discriminatory. Read Excelencia's latest case for HSIs and learn more about how these programs constitute a strategic, competitive, capacity-building investment in institutions that disproportionately educate America’s fastest-growing student population and why supporting them is a strategic investment in our democracy.
Read Now | Sep 15, 2025 · 4 min read