BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge has halted the Trump administration’s efforts to collect data proving higher education institutions do not consider race in admissions.
On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued the ruling granting the preliminary injunction after a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit earlier this month. it applies only to plaintiff’s public university
The federal judge said the federal government may have the authority to collect the data, but the request was made to the university in a “hasty and confusing” manner.
“The 120-day deadline imposed by the President directly resulted in NCES’ (National Center for Education Statistics) failure to meaningfully engage with institutions during the notice and comment process to address the numerous issues raised by the new requirements,” Thaler wrote.
President Donald Trump expressed concern about colleges and universities’ use of personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he considered illegal discrimination, and ordered the data collection in August.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said colleges could still consider how race affects students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.
States argue the data collection could violate student privacy and lead to unfounded investigations of colleges and universities. They also argued that universities did not have enough time to collect data.
“The hasty and irresponsible manner in which this data was obtained will cause problems for the university,” Michelle Pascucci, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the court, adding that the move appeared designed to expose illegal conduct.
The Education Department defended the effort, arguing taxpayers deserve transparency on how agencies that receive federal funding spend their money.
The administration’s policy echoes settlements the administration negotiated with Brown and Columbia universities that restored their federal research funding. Universities agreed to provide the government with data on the race, grade point average and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and current students. The school also agreed to be audited by the government and release enrollment statistics to the public.
The National Center for Education Statistics will collect new data on race and gender of college applicants, admitted students and current students. Education Minister Linda McMahon said the data, which was due by March 18, must be disaggregated by race and gender and reported back for the past seven years.
The administration said if colleges fail to submit complete and accurate data in a timely manner, McMahon can take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which outlines requirements for colleges receiving federal student financial aid.
The Trump administration has separately sued Harvard University over similar data, saying the school refused to provide admissions records requested by the Justice Department to ensure the school stopped using affirmative action. Harvard said it has been responding to the administration’s requests and complying with the high court’s ruling against affirmative action. On Monday, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights directed Harvard to comply with the data request within 20 days and turn it over to the U.S. Department of Justice.
