Trump Administration Cancels Federal Grant That Promotes Student Diversity

Students at University of St. Thomas woke up to news of canceled tuition grants.

Prospective special education teachers at the University of St. Thomas are no longer eligible to receive federal grants, KARE 11 reported.

The federal grant, awarded to the school, allocated $6.8 million toward student tuition. The loss of the grant is due to the Trump administration’s efforts to cut diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

University President Rob Vischer spoke to Kare 11 about the unexpected loss of funding.

“Honestly, this was quite surprising to us,” Vischer said.

The president of the Minnesota university is hopeful that the parameters of the grant can be amended to meet federal requirements. Vischer admitted the intended use of the grant was to increase diversity representation in education, but diversity is not a necessary requirement.

“Under the Biden administration, grant applicants were required to explain how the funds could advance diversity in the teaching profession, which we, of course, did,” Vischer said.

“The core of the grant, we don’t think, is a priority that has changed. We still need more special education and elementary teachers. So, we are hoping to have the opportunity to show how the grant complies with these new requirements and priorities.”

Like many other Trump initiatives, the legality of this move by the federal government is being questioned. According to Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minnesota), the funds were approved by Congress years ago, during the Biden administration, which makes the funds untouchable.

The school will appeal the ruling while finding alternative methods to ensure its current students can complete the semester without access to the grant funding.

“Regardless of how this appeal turns out, we are committed to making sure that our students are able to finish the spring semester of classes,” Vischer said.

Vischer is also concerned for other students receiving federal grants, as many of his programs were tailored toward expanding diversity.

“For so many of these grants during the Biden administration, we were required to explain how funding could also advance diversity. The work we did to build a successful grant application last year is now the reason why grants are being canceled.”

The university’s website currently lists five federal grants. If the Trump administration decides that DEI is one of the core tenets supported in the grants, those could be gone as well.