While most people were thinking about Halloween during the last week of October, attorneys general from 21 states and Washington, DC filed briefs challenging the cancellation of TRIO programs at colleges across the country. The ask? Reverse the Trump Administration’s rejection of congressionally appropriated funds that were scheduled to start September 1, 2025 in support of TRIO, including the Upward Bound program.
How Many Students Are Impacted?
According to the Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), there are $1.19 billion allocated to Federal TRIO Programs for fiscal year 2025. This represents nearly 44,000 students who would be helped with academic assistance and financial aid guidance.
The Reason for Program Cancellation
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released President Trump’s FY2026 budget that proposed massive cuts to non-defense programs. The cuts included TRIO and GEAR UP, a program that targets a cohort of students.
To be clear, not all grants were cancelled in their entirety. There were 100 grants that were rejected or canceled while thousands of other TRIO grants were delayed. The main reason for the cancellations was a reference to TRIO program goals that aligned with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or gender ratios. On top of this, during the government shutdown Education Secretary Linda McMahon eliminated the office that administered the TRIO grants.
What is TRIO Program? What Does TRIO Stand For?
TRIO is not actually an acronym. It represents the original three programs the federal government created to help improve access to higher education for economically disadvantaged students. The three programs were Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Service. Upward Bound was birthed under the Education Opportunity Act of 1964. The other two programs, Talent Search and Student Support Service, were created under the Higher Education Act (HEA) and subsequent reauthorization of HEA.
Over the years, TRIO expanded to include eight programs.
How Does TRIO Help Students Exactly?
Since TRIO is made up of individual programs with their own specialty, the benefits of the program vary. Here are the names of the different TRIO programs:
- Upward Bound
- Upward Bound Math-Science
- Veterans Upward Bound
- Talent Search
- Student Support Services
- Educational Opportunity Centers
- Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program
Through these services, students receive help with tutoring, personal and financial counseling, career counseling, applying for financial aid, grant aid (exclusive scholarships for TRIO participants), and more.
What Should You Do Now?
Even though TRIO grants have been cancelled or rejected at certain colleges, a number of schools have started to receive funding. If you’re a student concerned about how TRIO will impact you, here are some actions you can take:
- Contact your local TRIO program office. Ask for a status update and get recommendations on other services that could help you.
- Leverage other offices on campus. Most schools have an academic success center, department specific tutoring help, career resource centers, an office of financial aid and scholarships, etc. These are offices that are not necessarily affiliated with TRIO and thereby would not be affected by grant cancellations.
What Colleges Have TRIO Programs?
There are over 1,000 colleges nationwide that have TRIO programs. Contact your college or university for more information.
