The budget proposal essentially cancels an increase for those schools provided by the 2007 College Cost Reduction Act in September. That was the first increase in funding the Department of Education's Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities program has received since 2005.

Higher education leaders said they will wait out the legislative process to see how the schools fare once the budget moves through the Democrat-controlled Congress. They wonder what the cut could mean for the grant program's future.

"The HBCU community, it's safe to say, they would be disappointed but not necessarily surprised," said Edith Bartley, director of government affairs at the United Negro College Fund.

The $238 million grant program provides funding to 96 federally recognized schools that have historically served black students. The money is allocated based on a school's amount of recent graduates, the number of low-income students and how many students go on to graduate programs. The federal funds may be used to for campus facilities, improve academics or enhance a school's endowment.