Newsom vows to block funds for universities that comply with Trump’s education crackdown

[Thiệu Ngô]

Newsom Says California Will Cut Funds For ‘Sell-Out Universities’ Complying With Trump Education Crackdown

By Antonio Pequeño IV

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., said Thursday that California will cut funding for California schools that comply with the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education,” an agreement providing colleges with funding benefits if they agree to make policy changes in line with President Donald Trump’s education agenda.

The compact was sent to some of the top public and private schools in the U.S. on Wednesday, according to The New York Times, demanding the institutions freeze tuition for five years, cap international student enrollment and “commit to strict definitions of gender.”

The compact also demands universities stop grade inflation, bring back the SAT requirement for applicants and ban the use of race and sex when making hirings and admissions decisions, The Wall Street Journal reported, noting another demand that asks schools to make changes and remove departments that “purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against conservative ideas.”

“Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits,” the compact says.

Newsom said in a statement the agreement is “nothing short of a hostile takeover of America’s universities” that “even dictates how schools must spend their own endowments.”

Newsom threatened to pull state funding, including need-based grants for California residents known as Cal Grants, from state schools that “SELL OUT THEIR STUDENTS, PROFESSORS, RESEARCHERS, AND SURRENDER ACADEMIC FREEDOM.”

What Schools Received The Compact?

The University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas, Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia were sent letters, according to the Journal and the Times, meaning USC is the only California school Newsom’s statement applies to unless more compact offers are sent out.
How Much Money Is On The Line For Usc?

USC received $1.35 billion in federal funding in the 2024 fiscal year. While the private university does not receive state funding in the same way public California schools do, its in-state students can still receive Cal Grants, which can cover up to $11,000 per year for certain students.