The U.S. Department of Education should rescind and begin again with its recently published applications for the fiscal year 2026 TRIO Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) grant competitions, says U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and a bipartisan contingent of her colleagues.
“The grant structure outlined in the applications reflects a dramatic shift in mission and redirects funds from the core purpose of the Talent Search and EOC programs,” wrote Sen. Collins and the lawmakers in an April 9 letter sent to U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon.
“Given this, as well as the current time constraints surrounding the competitions, we respectfully request that the administration rescind the applications and work with Congress to revise and reissue the applications to protect the integrity of the federal TRIO Programs,” they wrote. “In taking the time to rectify this matter, we also request that the administration ensure that there is no lapse in funding for any Talent Search or EOC projects, which are scheduled to expire on Aug. 31.”
The purpose of TRIO is to promote college awareness, preparation, and completion for low-income, potential first-generation college students in grades 6-12. The law also requires that TRIO EOCs assist adult learners in re-entering the education pipeline by supporting them to succeed, including with academic, admissions, and financial aid assistance.
“Yet, the notices inviting applications make it clear that, in order to successfully secure a grant in the pending competitions, applicants must shift their programmatic focus to center around registered apprenticeships, work-based learning, and career and technical education programs,” wrote Sen. Collins, who led 11 of her colleagues, including U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), in signing the letter.
The new applications for TRIO’s Talent Search and EOC programs, they wrote, will disadvantage current grantees by reducing the number of awards the Education Department plans to fund and restructuring the grant competitions in ways that could shift funding away from long-standing, high-performing programs.
“We are also concerned that the Talent Search and EOC applications massively restructure the programs in ways that greatly disadvantage current grantees,” they wrote, noting the applications’ proposal to reduce the per-student cost to just $500 in Talent Search and $280 in EOC.
“While these have always been low-cost student programs, this configuration does not account for the rigorous, labor-intensive process of providing direct service to students or the required process of tracking their long-term success following their participation in the program,” the senators wrote. “Similarly, the EOC application proposes to shrink the number of grants from 160 to just 55. This will have devastating consequences for communities across the nation.”
Sen. Collins and her colleagues urged McMahon to work with them “to avoid irreversible damage to the students, families, and communities that rely on these critical programs.”