Sponsors (40)
Establishes a competitive grant program and related planning, reporting, procurement priorities, and partial loan payoff authority to fund HBCU capital and infrastructure projects.
Official title: To provide for the long-term improvement of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 13, 2026 by French Hill · Last progress May 13, 2026
The bill directs significant new federal support to modernize campus infrastructure, expand broadband, and address health and safety—especially for low‑resource and HBCU institutions—while increasing federal spending and imposing administrative, eligibility, and procurement requirements that may delay projects and unevenly distribute benefits.
Students, faculty, and campus users at HBCUs, MSIs, and other eligible colleges will get modernized, safer facilities (labs, housing, dining, safety systems) through competitive grants, reducing deferred maintenance and improving learning and living conditions.
Students and surrounding rural and campus communities will gain expanded broadband, fiber, and telecom infrastructure (middle‑mile and last‑mile), improving high‑speed internet access for education and community use.
Low‑income and Pell‑eligible students and the institutions that serve them will be prioritized for funding, helping smaller endowment and low‑resource colleges preserve operations and improve equity in campus conditions.
Taxpayers will face increased federal costs because grant funding and HBCU loan payoffs raise federal outlays without a fixed offset in the text.
Small and resource‑constrained institutions will bear significant administrative and compliance burdens (detailed planning, 180‑day master plans, condition assessments, contaminant testing, financial disclosures and reporting), which can strain staff and finances and limit their ability to apply or move quickly.
Complex priority layers, scoring criteria, and follow‑on studies could delay or reduce funding for some high‑need projects, meaning certain campuses might wait longer for repairs or upgrades.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Provides the Secretary of Education authority to award competitive multi‑year grants to eligible HBCUs and similar institutions to fund long‑term facilities improvements, infrastructure, equipment, planning, and related projects. The program requires grantees to submit comprehensive facilities master plans, follow procurement priorities for veteran‑owned and HUBZone small businesses, and meet reporting and evaluation requirements. Also directs the Department to repay certain outstanding balances on qualifying pre‑existing closed loans made under the HBCU Capital Financing Program, requires annual and multi‑year reports and GAO studies on program needs and implementation, ties grant priorities to measures of need and fundraising capacity, and authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2027–2032 without specifying dollar amounts.