Federal judge halts White House effort to collect university data on applicants’ race | US universities
A federal judge on Friday halted the Trump administration’s efforts to collect data proving that higher education institutions do not consider race in admissions.
The injunction by U.S. district court judge F Dennis Saylor IV in Boston followed a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. This would apply only to public universities in the plaintiffs’ states.
The federal judge said the federal government likely had the authority to collect the data, but the request was delivered to the universities in a “hurried and chaotic” manner.
“The 120-day period imposed by the President directly led to failure.” [the National Center for Education Statistics] meaningfully engaging with agencies during the notice and comment process to address the multitude of issues raised by the new requirements,” Saylor wrote.
Donald Trump ordered the data collection in August after voicing concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race in what he viewed as illegal discrimination.
In 2023, the high court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said universities could still consider how race shapes students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.
The states said the data collection risks violating students’ privacy and leading to unfounded investigations at colleges and universities. They also argued that universities were not given enough time to collect data.
“The data was sought in such a hasty and irresponsible manner that it would create problems for the universities,” plaintiffs’ attorney Michelle Pascucci told the court, adding that the effort was aimed at uncovering unlawful practices.
The education department defended the request, arguing that taxpayers deserve transparency about how money is spent at institutions that receive federal funding.
The administration’s policy mirrors settlement agreements the government negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, which clawed back federal research monies. Universities agreed to provide the government with data on the race, GPA and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to be audited by the government and to publicly publish admissions statistics.
The National Center for Education Statistics will collect new data, including the race and gender of college applicants, accepted students and enrolled students. Education Minister Linda McMahon said the data, which was first due March 18, should be disaggregated by race and gender and reported retrospectively for the past seven years.
If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, the administration said McMahon could take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which sets requirements for colleges that receive federal financial aid for students.
The Trump administration also sued Harvard University over similar data, saying the university refused to provide admissions records that the justice department requested to get the school to stop affirmative action. Harvard said the university responded to the government’s requests and was in compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action. On Monday, the education department’s civil rights office directed Harvard to comply with requests for data within 20 days or it will be referred to the justice department.
