For second time, Minnesota universities lose federal grants to support teachers in training

Three federal grants to the universities of Minnesota and St. Thomas that were meant to support the training of new teachers have again been cut after President Donald Trump’s administration considered at least two of them diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The cuts were made once before but then reinstated by a U.S. District Court order after lawsuits were filed by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and the National Center for Teacher Residencies. But an April decision by the U.S. Supreme Court reversed that lower court’s ruling.

“St. Thomas is disappointed but not surprised by the decision,” the school said in a statement. “The university is reviewing the decision and examining its options.”

St. Thomas officials have said they did not view its two canceled grants as DEI initiatives. A spokesperson for the University of Minnesota could not confirm whether that school’s grant was canceled over DEI objections.

The three grants were worth almost $12 million in total and were meant to benefit dozens of students aspiring to become K-12 teachers at a time when Minnesota is experiencing a shortage, according to administrators.

“We know Minnesota communities – especially in rural areas – are facing a critical shortage of special education teachers,” said Danaya Franke, the director of NXT GEN Teach at the University of Minnesota. “We continue to be hopeful that the appeal process will restore our five-year grant, which was designed to make it easier for future special education teachers to become licensed through an undergraduate apprenticeship program.”

The first of St. Thomas’ grants was worth $6.8 million and awarded in 2023. It was meant to provide three years of funding for graduate students pursuing teaching careers and stipends to undergraduates while they were student teaching in special and elementary education.

The second grant was worth $2.8 million, was in its fifth and final year and was meant to help provide living wage stipends to students completing teaching internships required for licensure.

The University of Minnesota grant was worth $2.3 million and would have been used to recruit 60 future special education teachers through an apprenticeship model open to all candidates. Another 60 mentors would have been trained to coach emerging teachers.