Heritage Legacy Act

Key Points

• The bill would create a new federal grant program that pays HBCUs an amount equal to the full tuition of every qualifying student, with the money then passed to students as direct scholarships.
• To qualify, a student must prove that at least one-quarter of their ancestry traces to a person enslaved in the United States, using pre-1965 census records or other Secretary-approved documentation.
• The scholarship covers tuition for up to 12 semesters of full-time undergraduate study, enough for a standard degree plus some extra time if needed.
• The bill changes federal financial aid rules so this scholarship does not reduce a student's eligibility for other aid like Pell Grants, letting students stack aid to cover living costs.
• Five percent of the program's funding is set aside to cover the cost of verifying student ancestry and to help HBCUs with administrative expenses of running the scholarships.