Sponsors
The bill increases and prioritizes need‑based Pell aid for low‑income students and simplifies some federal grant administration, but does so largely by eliminating or narrowing race‑conscious, MSI‑targeted funding and outreach—trading broader race‑neutral access for reduced targeted supports and resources for institutions and students from historically underrepresented communities.
Low-income undergraduate students receive larger and more predictable Pell Grant aid — including an additional annual Pell payment starting 2028–29 and formula-based adjustments tied to Chained CPI‑U, with new appropriations available for two years.
Federal programs are rebranded and consolidated with explicit annual allocation amounts and clearer eligibility language that prioritizes institutions serving Federal Pell recipients, which can simplify administration, improve predictability for grant planning, and focus outreach on low‑income students.
Maintains statutory undergraduate support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and authorizes instrumentation funding under the HBCU program.
Students from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups may lose access to grants, targeted programs, and supports that were designed to improve their college and STEM participation because race/ethnicity‑based eligibility and MSI/Hispanic‑serving authorities are repealed or narrowed.
Minority‑serving institutions (MSIs), Hispanic‑Serving Institutions (HSIs), HBCUs, TCUs and similar campuses risk losing tailored grant streams and program funding, reducing institutional resources, student services, and supports at colleges that serve historically underserved communities.
Prohibiting race‑conscious eligibility and removing race‑based outreach language constrain tools institutions use to recruit and support underrepresented students, likely reducing campus diversity and opportunities to address racial disparities in higher education and STEM.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Eliminates many race/ethnicity‑targeted higher‑education programs, bans race‑based admissions/preferences for federal funding, shifts eligibility toward Pell recipients, and creates a recurring Pell boost starting 2028–29.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by James E. Banks · Last progress December 11, 2025
Removes and replaces many race- or ethnicity-targeted higher education programs and grants, prohibits use of racial or ethnic composition or preferences when awarding federal higher-education funds, redirects eligibility toward institutions that serve large shares of Federal Pell Grant recipients, and creates a recurring Pell Grant increase funded by savings produced from the statutory changes. It also amends National Science Foundation grant rules to bar consideration of grantees' racial/ethnic composition and requires federal agencies to review and report any laws that refer to "minority-serving" institutions within one year.