Budget Cuts in Texas May Lead to Significant Decrease in the Number of Blacks Who Can Afford to Enroll in College

The draft proposal of the Texas state budget includes a 40 percent reduction in the TEXAS grant program for low-income college students. About 60 percent of the grants go to minority students, with African Americans and Hispanics each garnering about 30 percent of the funds. Under the proposal, the number of students who would receive state grants would drop from nearly 87,000 this year to under 30,000 in 2013.

If these cuts survive the budgeting process, the number of black students who can afford to enroll in higher education in the state may drop significantly. The loss of grant money, coupled with proposed hikes in tuition at state universities, will undoubtedly result in a huge drop in enrollments of black students at state colleges and universities in Texas.

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