April 4, 2026 / 12:13 PM EDT / AP
A federal judge on Friday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s effort to force colleges to turn over admissions data the government said would demonstrate whether race is being used in admissions decisions.
U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general. The injunction covers only public universities located within the plaintiffs’ states.
Saylor said the federal government likely has the legal authority to request the information but criticized how the requirement was implemented, calling the rollout rushed and chaotic. He wrote that the 120-day deadline set by the President prevented the National Center for Education Statistics from engaging meaningfully with institutions during the notice-and-comment process and from addressing a range of problems with the new mandate.
The data collection was ordered by President Donald Trump in August after he expressed concerns that colleges were using personal essays and other proxies to consider race in admissions. In 2023, the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in admissions but allowed colleges to consider how race has affected applicants’ lives if that information is volunteered.
The states contend the data request threatens student privacy, could lead to unwarranted investigations of colleges and universities, and left schools too little time to compile and submit records. Plaintiff attorney Michelle Pascucci told the court the government’s approach was hasty and irresponsible and would create problems for universities, and she said the effort appeared aimed at uncovering unlawful practices.
The Education Department defended the initiative, saying taxpayers deserve transparency about how federal funds are used at institutions that receive them. The administration noted that its approach resembles settlement terms reached with Brown University and Columbia University, under which those schools agreed to provide the government with applicant, admitted and enrolled student data by race, GPA and standardized test scores, to submit to audits and to publish admissions statistics as a condition of restoring federal research funding.
Under the new requirements, NCES was directed to collect additional data, including the race and sex of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the information, originally due March 18, must be disaggregated by race and sex and reported retroactively for the past seven years.
The administration has warned that colleges that fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data could face action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which governs institutions that receive federal student aid.
Separately, the Justice Department has sued Harvard University over a related request for admissions records, saying the school declined a Justice Department demand intended to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Harvard says it has been responding to government requests and is complying with the high court decision. Earlier this week, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights directed Harvard to comply with the data requests within 20 days or face referral to the U.S. Justice Department.
The preliminary injunction does not resolve the broader legal dispute over the scope of federal authority and the privacy and administrative concerns raised by the states, but it temporarily shields public institutions in the plaintiff states from complying with the specific federal data collection while the case proceeds.