College campuses and state health departments across the United States are grappling with a new wave of federal funding cuts and policy demands from the Trump administration, with programs supporting low-income students and inclusive sex education now squarely in the crosshairs. In Nevada and Vermont, the impact is already being felt, as institutions and state officials scramble to maintain crucial support services for vulnerable populations.
At the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), the TRIO program has long been a lifeline for students like James Allen. Allen, a 57-year-old nontraditional student who is low-income and disabled, credits TRIO for his academic success. “They took over my advising, they helped me with school supplies, they helped me with books, they helped me with confidence, motivation, even snacks — I mean, all kinds of things,” Allen told The Nevada Independent. “They just accepted me with open arms.”
Since 2000, CSN’s TRIO program has provided comprehensive support—ranging from college workshops to scholarship guidance—for more than 3,000 low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities. But last month, the Trump administration abruptly canceled the Student Support Service (SSS) grant that funded the program, cutting off $300,000 that supported 200 students and three staff members. The administration cited issues with nondiscrimination requirements, according to a denial letter from the U.S. Department of Education obtained by CSN and shared with the press.
The blow didn’t stop there. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) also lost the final year of a three-year grant that provided $400,000 annually for TRIO staff training. In total, 36 TRIO grants worth about $11.8 million were awarded last year to Nevada institutions, supporting around 8,000 students. Now, those programs are in jeopardy, with officials warning that as many as 20 more TRIO grants in the state could face similar cuts as their grant cycles end on September 30, 2025.
Speculation is rife that these cancellations are part of the Trump administration’s broader opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Education officials point to the administration’s recent investigations and threats to defund colleges engaged in DEI work. According to The Nevada Independent, the Department of Education did not respond to requests for further details on the grant cancellations, leaving many institutions in the dark.
CSN and UNLV are appealing the cancellation of their TRIO grants, but in the meantime, students are being referred to other campus resources. Nicholas Goodsell, CSN’s TRIO Director, says those alternatives simply don’t measure up. “None of those departments provide the same levels of care and dedication that the TRIO program did,” he said. Allen agrees, describing TRIO as essential to his transition into higher education. “It offered me everything I needed to learn in the beginning of how to be a successful college student all the way from how to study, how to retain information, how to read better, how to write better, everything,” Allen said. “When you cut off a program like TRIO from community colleges, a lot of people won't have access to the tools they need to succeed.”
The uncertainty extends beyond Nevada. Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, told The Nevada Independent that roughly 2 percent of TRIO grants tracked by her nonprofit have been denied, with about $660 million worth of grants for more than 2,000 TRIO programs frozen nationwide. Some programs have shifted online or shut down, furloughing staff in the process. The cancellations, Jones said, are “inconsistent and confusing.” In some cases, denial letters flagged language as contradictory to the administration’s anti-DEI agenda, even when the only mention of race was a nondiscrimination statement.
In CSN’s denial letter, the Department of Education claimed the college’s application included activities that “take account of race in ways that conflict with the Department’s policy of prioritizing merit, fairness, and excellence in education and the Department’s commitment to upholding the letter and purpose of Federal civil rights law.” Goodsell said the department had not responded to requests for clarification, even as similar language was approved in another CSN grant application. “It’s inconsistent and confusing,” he said. “How are they determining who gets canceled and who gets funded?”
The Trump administration’s skepticism toward programs like TRIO is not new. Earlier this year, it proposed eliminating all TRIO spending as part of a broader plan to slash billions from government programs, arguing that “access to college is not the obstacle it was for students of limited means” and that colleges should use their own resources to support students. Yet, bipartisan support for TRIO remains strong in Congress, with Senate and House appropriations committees voting to sustain $1.2 billion in funding for the next fiscal year. Even so, Jones worries that the administration could undermine the program by making it harder for institutions to secure grants, leaving students like Allen at risk.
Meanwhile, in Vermont, state officials are facing their own federal ultimatum. On August 26, 2025, the Trump administration gave Vermont and 39 other states 60 days to remove what it called “delusional ideology” from youth sex education materials or lose federal funding. The target: the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP), which teaches about unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, especially to young people without stable housing or in rural areas. Vermont stands to lose $670,036 in federal funding for PREP, which typically serves about 300 young Vermonters each year, according to the Burlington Free Press.
Andrew Gradison, acting assistant secretary of the Administration for Children and Families, made the administration’s stance clear: “Federal dollars shouldn’t be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas.” The “problematic language” cited by federal officials largely refers to curriculum acknowledging and supporting transgender and gender-nonconforming people.
But Vermont officials aren’t backing down. The Department of Health announced that it would use state funds to continue the curriculum, including information involving gender, without modification. “Within our existing budget, the Health Department will ensure that funding is available to continue the portion of the curriculum that includes information involving gender,” spokesperson Kyle Casteel told the Burlington Free Press. “This will allow PREP to continue operating without modification to the curriculum or interruption to the use of material that has long been in alignment with our statewide educational practices.”
Governor Phil Scott acknowledged the “significant” potential loss of funding but signaled the state’s commitment to maintaining inclusive, evidence-based public health programs. Casteel emphasized that Vermont remains dedicated to serving all residents, including those in the LGBTQ+ community.
For now, the fate of TRIO and PREP hangs in the balance, as students, educators, and public health officials await the outcome of appeals and congressional negotiations. For Allen, the journey continues—he’s now taking classes at UNLV, aiming for law school and a career in advocacy. “I’m just gonna keep going to school right now because now that I know I can do it,” he said. “The more I learn, the more I want to learn.”
As the nation debates the future of federal support for education and public health, the stories unfolding in Nevada and Vermont highlight what’s at stake—not just dollars and policies, but the opportunities and support systems that help Americans pursue their dreams.