BOSTON (AP) 鈥� A federal judge has halted efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions aren鈥檛 considering race in admissions.
The ruling from U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston on Friday granting the preliminary injunction follows filed last month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. It will only apply to public universities in plaintiffs.
The federal judge said the federal government likely has the authority to collect the data, but the demand was rolled out to universities in a 鈥渞ushed and chaotic鈥� manner.
鈥淭he 120-day deadline imposed by the President led directly to the failure of NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) to engage meaningfully with the institutions during the notice-and-comment process to address the multitude of problems presented by the new requirements,鈥� Saylor wrote.
President Donald Trump ordered the data collection in August after he raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he views as illegal discrimination.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of but said colleges could still consider how race has shaped students鈥� lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.
The states argue the data collection risks invading student privacy and leading to baseless investigations of colleges and universities. They also argued that universities have not been given enough time to collect the data.
鈥淭he data has been sought in such a hasty and irresponsible way that it will create problems for universities,鈥� a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Michelle Pascucci, told the court, adding that the effort seem was aimed at uncovering unlawful practices.
The Education Department has defended the effort, arguing taxpayers deserve transparency on how money is spent at institutions that receive federal funding.
The administration’s policy echoes the government negotiated with and , restoring their federal research money. The universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade-point average and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to be audited by the government and to release admissions statistics to the public.
The National Center for Education Statistics is to collect the new data, including the race and sex of colleges鈥� applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has said the data, which was originally due by March 18, must be disaggregated by race and sex and retroactively reported for the past seven years.
If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, the administration has said McMahon can take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which outlines requirements for colleges receiving federal financial aid for students.
The Trump administration separately has over similar data, saying it refused to provide admissions records the Justice Department demanded to ensure the school stopped using affirmative action. Harvard has said the university has been responding to the government鈥檚 requests and is in compliance with the high court ruling against affirmative action. On Monday, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights directed Harvard to comply with the data requests within 20 days for face referral to the U.S. Justice Department.
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