Heritage Legacy Act

The Heritage Legacy Act directs the Secretary of Education to provide grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in 2027 and subsequent years, with the grant amount equal to the total tuition charged to all qualified students at each institution. These funds must be used to offer direct scholarships to undergraduate students who are full-time enrollees and can prove they are descendants of individuals who were enslaved in the United States. To receive a scholarship, a student must provide documentation, such as census records, showing that at least one-quarter of their genes come from an ancestor who was enslaved, and the bill sets aside five percent of the funding to cover the costs of verifying these claims. Additionally, the legislation amends the Higher Education Act to ensure that scholarships awarded under this new program are excluded from calculations used to determine a student's financial aid index.