This story was originally published by EdSource with additional local reporting from Long Beach Post staff writer Kate Raphael. Sign up for EdSource’s daily newsletter.
California’s community colleges are expected to lose about $20 million next year as a result of the Trump administration ending grant programs for Hispanic-Serving Institutions and other Minority-Serving Institutions, the system’s chancellor said Tuesday.
Long Beach City College is projected to lose $1.2 million next year due to several grant cuts. That projection rises to $3 million over the next three years, according to LBCC spokesperson Stacey Toda.
After last week’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Education, the statewide chancellor’s office began surveying the 115 degree-granting community colleges across the state. At least 97 of those colleges are designated as Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). That designation is earned mainly by having an undergraduate student body that is at least 25% Latino. According to LBCC, 60% of its students identify as Hispanic or Latino.
So far, about half the colleges have responded to the survey and reported they were previously anticipating $9.2 million in HSI grant funding in 2026 and an additional $800,000 in other Minority-Serving Institution grants — funding that is now being terminated. Based on that response, the system projects a total $20 million loss across the colleges next year, Sonya Christian, the state chancellor, said Tuesday during a meeting of the system’s board of governors in Anaheim.
Across the colleges, HSI grants are currently funding initiatives such as dual enrollment, mentoring, career counseling and transfer support, Christian said.
“As open access institutions, the mission of our colleges is to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have the opportunity to succeed. We are deeply troubled that this action could limit access to resources that support their educational advancement and economic mobility,” she added in a statement decrying the cuts.
HSI grants fund a wide range of “critical student success services” at LBCC, a spokesperson for the college said. With the elimination of HSI funding, LBCC will have to slash or significantly reduce supports including: basic needs services, bilingual counselors and mental health clinicians, career and financial aid support, readiness programs for first-time college students, identity-focused workshops, completion and transfer guidance, peer mentorship, and reserve seats in math and English.
LBCC is still assessing the impacts from the cuts. Some services may continue but with reduced staff.
In canceling the grant programs, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said they “discriminate by restricting eligibility to institutions that meet government-mandated racial quotas.” Proponents, however, have regularly noted that when colleges receive grant funding, it is typically spent on programs available to all students, not just Hispanic students.
At LBCC, these services are available to Hispanic and low-income students, with some services available to adult learners, Toda said.
Five University of California campuses and 21 California State University campuses are also considered HSI schools. The designation allows those colleges to apply for the grants, which are competitive and not guaranteed. Together, California institutions have received more than $600 million in HSI grants since the program’s inception in 1995.
LBCC will have until September 2026 to spend down any funding already received.
In a separate communication Tuesday to local community college chancellors and presidents, Christian said the chancellor’s office is “exploring legislative options for a California-based HSI block grant,” though she did not provide further details about that or its potential funding source.