Overview
- The Wisconsin Supreme Court unanimously found the Minority Undergraduate Retention Grant Program unconstitutional and enjoined the Higher Educational Aids Board from operating it.
- The decision, issued June 18, 2026, applied strict equal-protection standards shaped by a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed the use of race in education policy.
- The program, created in 1985, targeted Black, Hispanic, American Indian and certain Southeast Asian students and paid $440,433 to about 770 students in 2023–24 with awards up to $2,500 per year.
- Chief Justice Jill Karofsky wrote a concurrence recognizing persistent racial disparities in Wisconsin while joining the result because she said the court is bound by federal precedent, and the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty praised the ruling.
- Lawmakers and researchers are exploring next steps, including bills to replace the aid with race-neutral criteria like income or zip code and proposals to repurpose the funds to broader affordability and retention programs given Wisconsin’s low per-student aid levels.