Executive Order 13256: President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities
President: George W. Bush
Created an Education Department advisory board and required designated agencies to prepare annual plans, goals and performance reports intended to increase HBCU participation in federal programs, while directing an integrated federal plan and private-sector strategy.
Status: Revoked.
Is Executive Order 13256 still in effect? No. Revoked February 26, 2010; successor frameworks continue.
What does Executive Order 13256 do?
The order assigned these duties: Advisory board — Advise the President and Education Secretary and issue an annual report; Designated agencies — Set measurable HBCU participation goals, provide assistance and submit performance reports.
Verified the agency plans, Board role and EO 13532’s express 2010 revocation. Added the distinct 2025 EO 14283 successor initiative and the Department of Education’s 2026 charter renewal through April 9, 2028; neither is represented as reviving EO 13256.
Before and after
Before the order
EO 12876 governed the earlier HBCU initiative and advisory structure.
After the order
The Board and agency planning duties continued under later orders until EO 13532 revoked EO 13256 in 2010. In 2025, EO 14283 established a new White House HBCU Initiative and successor Board under a different order and statutory framework; the Education Department renewed that Board’s charter through April 9, 2028. Neither action reinstated EO 13256.
Who had to do what
| Agency / office | Action | Timing / position |
|---|---|---|
| Advisory board | Advise the President and Education Secretary and issue an annual report | Annually |
| Designated agencies | Set measurable HBCU participation goals, provide assistance and submit performance reports | Annually |
| Education Secretary and Initiative | Integrate agency plans, monitor performance and support the board | Each annual planning cycle |
What happened next
EO 13256 signed.
EO 13256 revoked EO 12876 and created the new board and planning system.
EO 13316 and EO 13385 amended the framework.
EO 13532 revoked EO 13256 and established a successor initiative.
EO 14283 established a new White House HBCU Initiative and successor Board.
The Department of Education renewed the successor Board’s charter through April 9, 2028.
Legal and source detail
How it works legally
The board was advisory, and grants and contracts remained governed by program statutes, appropriations, competition rules and agency regulations. The successor initiatives preserve related policy goals but do not keep EO 13256 legally operative. No order-specific merits judgment was located.
Sources by type
If a source is unavailable, first check the cited publisher or another official repository. The cited publisher remains the authority.
Primary and official sources
Orders, laws, court records and official implementation material.
- Education Department — 2004–05 board report (opens in a new tab) Official record
- Education Department — current HBCU board (opens in a new tab) Official record
How we checked this
Last checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026. How we research →