Trump administration can't make colleges provide race-related data, judge rules

Source: Reuters

April 3, 2026 11:16 PM EDT Updated 9 hours ago


BOSTON, April 3 (Reuters) - The Trump ​administration cannot force public universities in 17 U.S. states to turn over sweeping amounts ‌of data so it can examine whether they have ceased considering race as an admissions factor, a federal judge ruled on Friday.

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued a preliminary injunction at the request of those ​states' Democratic attorneys general, who are suing over a new data reporting requirement the Department ​of Education adopted in a survey used to gather information from colleges.

The department ⁠sought seven years of admissions data on the race and sex of students to track compliance ​with the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling ending affirmative action in higher education. New York Attorney General Letitia James hailed ​the ruling, saying in a statement that "schools should not have to scramble to produce years of sensitive information to satisfy an arbitrary and unlawful demand."

The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment. The states, which also include ​California and Massachusetts, sued last month, arguing the survey's rushed implementation left universities vulnerable to inadvertent ​errors that could lead them to face penalties and investigations into their practices.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-cant-make-colleges-provide-race-related-data-judge-rules-2026-04-04/