Federal judge halts White House effort to collect university data on applicants’ race
The Guardian • • general
Key Points:
- A federal judge in Boston blocked the Trump administration's attempt to collect data from public universities to prove they do not consider race in admissions, citing the rushed and chaotic rollout of the demand.
- The lawsuit, filed by 17 Democratic state attorneys general, argues that the data collection could invade student privacy and lead to unfounded investigations, while universities claim insufficient time to comply.
- The data request, ordered by Trump in August, aims to investigate alleged illegal racial discrimination in admissions, following the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling against affirmative action but allowing consideration of race-related personal experiences.
- The Education Department defends the data collection as necessary for transparency on federal funding usage, threatening colleges with penalties under the Higher Education Act if they fail to comply.
- The data sought includes race, sex, GPA, and test scores of applicants, admitted, and enrolled students, with retroactive reporting required for the past seven years, mirroring previous agreements with Brown and Columbia Universities.
