EDITORS' CORNER
Change is not because of lawsuit, fund states
A scholarship fund previously limited to Hispanic students will now be open to applicants of all races following a lawsuit filed by the American Alliance for Equal Rights.
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s Scholar Program will open to all students beginning in 2027, HSF announced in a Tuesday news release.
However, “In lieu of an ethnicity requirement, the HSF Scholar Program will be open to students who demonstrate a commitment to supporting, celebrating, and advancing the success of Hispanics in the United States,” the fund wrote.
The fund also noted that it is not making this change because of the lawsuit filed against it.
“While changing the HSF Scholar Program criteria will end the lawsuit against HSF, HSF has been contemplating this change in the HSF Scholar Program long before that lawsuit was filed,” the release states.
HSF continued to defend itself in the case, arguing that groups should be allowed to offer scholarships and support specifically to racially disadvantaged communities when it aligns with their mission.
The fund referenced a September district court ruling that dismissed parts of the case, saying the federal judge “made clear that scholarships for racially disadvantaged communities do not violate federal civil rights laws.”
However, “the decision likely would have required some changes to the way HSF implements the Scholar Program,” the release stated.
AAER sued the Hispanic Scholarship Fund in December 2025 over the long-running Scholar Program, arguing that limiting the scholarship by ethnicity violates a federal civil rights law, according to a news release from the legal advocacy group.
“The American Alliance for Equal Rights believes that race and ethnicity should never affect the opportunities that are available to students. The Alliance applauds HSF for making its valuable scholarship and support services available to all students,” AAER President Edward Blum stated.
The HFS Scholar Program is not the first of its kind. Several universities offer race-based scholarships that are facing legal challenges.
Earlier this year, Young America’s Foundation, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, filed a lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin–Madison, challenging at least 20 taxpayer-funded scholarships and grants that contain race-based criteria, The College Fix previously reported.
In addition, two Oklahoma universities are facing a civil rights complaint from the medical advocacy group Do No Harm over their nursing scholarships only for Native Americans.
The Department of Justice warned in a 2025 memo that race-based scholarships are “unlawful.”
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