Judge blocks Trump’s effort on college admissions: NPR

BOSTON — A federal judge has blocked efforts by the Trump administration to collect data that proves higher education institutions are not considering race in admissions.

US District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV’s decision to grant the preliminary injunction Friday follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. This will apply only to public universities in the valley

The federal judge said the federal government probably had the right to collect the data, but the demand was delivered to the universities in a “hasty and chaotic” manner.

“The 120-day deadline imposed by the President directly led to the failure of NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) to meaningfully engage with institutions during the notice-and-comment process to address the multitude of problems presented by the new requirements.”

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 affirmative action in admissions, but said colleges can still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.

States argue that the data collection invades students’ privacy and constitutes baseless scrutiny of colleges and universities. He also argued that universities have not been given enough time to collect data.

“The data has been sought in such a hasty and irresponsible manner that it will create problems for universities,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Michele Pascucci told the court. He said the effort appears to be aimed at exposing illegal practices.

The Education Department has defended the effort, arguing that taxpayers need transparency on how money is spent at institutions that receive federal funding.

The administration’s policy echoes settlement agreements the government negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, which restored their federal research funding. Universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade-point averages and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students, and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to be audited by the government and release admission figures to the public.

The National Center for Education Statistics is to collect new data, including the race and gender of college 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 gender and reported retroactively for the past seven years.

If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, the administration has said McMahon could 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 has separately sued Harvard University over similar data, saying it refused to provide admissions records, after the Justice Department sought to ensure that the school stopped using affirmative action. Harvard has said that the university is responding to the government’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 data requests within 20 days for face referrals to the US Justice Department.