Issue Briefs

About

In addition to providing essential federal funding for programs at the college level for the development of language skills and regional expertise, the Title VI international education programs work with elementary and secondary schools and businesses engaged in foreign enterprise.

Administered by the Department of Education, Title VI programs include the Centers for International Business Education (CIBE) Program, Language Resource Centers (LRC) Program, National Resource Centers (NRC) Program, and the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Program. The Department also has responsibility for the Fulbright-Hays programs authorized under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act. The Departments of State and Defense also provide for intensive foreign language training at institutes serving U.S. foreign affairs professionals and members of the armed forces, respectively.

Over the years, these programs have been subjected to the vagaries of political perspectives regarding current foreign policy. In FY 2025, the Trump administration cancelled funding for Title VI and redistributed it to other programs under the higher education account. The Trump administration has also proposed to move Title VI programs to the Department of State as part of its initiative to dismantle the Department of Education.

The Senate has recently demonstrated bipartisan support for international education, providing funding in its FY 2026 education appropriations bill, however, the House has proposed to eliminate funding. Efforts to reauthorize and expand Title VI have stalled in the current political environment.

History

The precursor to Title VI was the National Defense Education Act (NDEA), signed by President Eisenhower in 1958 in response to the launching of Sputnik by the Soviet Union.

The NDEA established a student loan program and authorized grants emphasizing the study of math, science, and foreign languages (particularly less-commonly taught languages).

It was followed by the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961, which sent technical specialists to developing countries. That same year, the Fulbright-Hays Act was enacted for the purpose of improving mutual understanding through educational and cultural exchange.

The NDEA student loan program subsequently became the Perkins Loan program, while its foreign language provisions became Title VI of the HEA.