Hispanic Scholarship Fund to Open Scholar Program to All Students Regardless of Ethnicity
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) announced that starting January 2027, its flagship Scholar Program will be open to all students. While the program previously required Hispanic heritage, the new criteria will instead focus on a student's demonstrated commitment to supporting and advancing the success of Hispanics in the United States. The decision follows a lawsuit filed in December 2025 by the American Alliance for Equal Rights regarding HSF's ethnicity requirements. Although the change effectively ends the litigation, HSF stated that it had been contemplating this expansion long before the legal challenge and maintains that its previous mission to support racially disadvantaged communities was legally sound.
Topics: Diversity and Inclusion Legal Settlement/Response Scholarship Program Changes