US Supreme Court clears way for Trump to gut Education Department
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to resume dismantling the Department of Education, part of his bid to shrink the federal government’s role in education in favor of more control by the states.
- The Department of Education is reallocating over $1 billion to various schools and education programs.
- This reallocation follows the agency’s decision to cut over $350 million in grants for minority-serving institutions.
- The new funding includes nearly $500 million for HBCUs and tribal campuses and $500 million for charter schools.
Amid President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, over $1 billion will be reallocated to schools and education programs across the country.
On Sept. 15, the Department of Education announced plans to reallocate over $1 billion in additional funding to historically Black colleges and universities and tribal campuses, grants to charter schools, and to American history and civics education programs. The agency cited a Sept. 9 report showing declines in K-12 student achievement as a cause for the additional charter school grants.
This announcement comes days after the agency announced it would withhold more than $350 million in grants to minority serving institutions, including colleges and universities that serve a large population of Hispanic students. These cuts targeted grants for institutions serving Alaska and Hawaiian natives, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, Hispanic, and Black students.
Here’s what to know about the reallocation of funds in Tennessee.
Why is Trump reallocating money to HBCUs?
The move from the administration comes in the wake of the Department of Education cutting funding for grant programs for minority students.
In the announcement, the department stated it would allocate nearly $500 million to HBCUs and tribal campuses, $500 million in grants to charter schools and over $160 million to American history and civics education programs.
The additional funding pushes the Trump administration’s 2025 investment in historically Black colleges and universities to more than $1.34 billion and the total for tribal colleges, which are often controlled by Native American tribes, to more than $108 million, the release said.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended the reallocation of funds, saying the agency “carefully scrutinized our federal grants, ensuring that taxpayers are not funding racially discriminatory programs but those programs which promote merit and excellence in education.”
How many HBCUs are in Tennessee?
According to the Tennessee Higher Education Commission, there are seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the state. Nashville is home to four of the seven institutions.
These seven institutions are:
- American Baptist College: Nashville
- Fisk University: Nashville
- Knoxville College: Knoxville
- Lane College: Jackson
- LeMoyne Owen College: Memphis
- Meharry Medical College: Nashville
- Tennessee State University: Nashville
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.