NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has partnered with “Students for Fair Admission” to initiate a legal action against the US Department of Education, challenging discriminatory practices.

The lawsuit claims the Hispanic Serving Institution program, or HSI program, is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

Click here to read the lawsuit.

The lawsuit contends that the program in question discriminates by allocating federal funds exclusively to economically disadvantaged students attending colleges and universities where at least 25% of the student population is Hispanic.

AG Skrmetti cited the University of Memphis as an example, which is ineligible for the grant even though enrollment is 61% minorities.

“A federal grant system that overtly discriminates on ethnic lines is not only wrong and contrary to American principles—it is unconstitutional,” stated Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “In the case of SFFA v. Harvard, the Supreme Court determined that admissions criteria based on race are illegal, and the discriminatory grant criteria of the HSI program are equally unlawful. Differentiating individuals based on ethnicity and background hinders our progress as a nation. The HSI program ironically denies deserving Hispanic students the advantages of this financial aid if they enroll at schools that fail to meet the government’s set threshold.”

AG Skrmetti

The lawsuit is seeking to end the HSI program’s “nonsensical, divisive, and discriminatory requirement and declare the limitation on access unconstitutional.”