Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Request For College Student Admissions Data

The Trump administration’s war against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in colleges hit a setback last week after a federal judge blocked the Education Department from obtaining the admissions data from 17 colleges.

According to The New York Times, the temporary restraining order issued by Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV of the Federal District Court in Boston was initially applied nationally before it was limited to the 17 schools currently suing the Trump administration over its request for admissions data. 

Last August, President Donald Trump gave colleges nationwide a March 18 deadline to submit admissions data to the Department of Education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended the policy, arguing that it was intended to ensure colleges complied with the Supreme Court’s ruling that effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions. 

A lawyer for the plaintiffs argued that the Trump administration’s policy was implemented in a “hasty and irresponsible” manner. Saylor seemed to agree with the plaintiff’s assertions in his ruling. 

“The 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,” Saylor wrote, according to NPR.

From NPR:

The National Center for Education Statistics is to collect the new data, including the race and sex of colleges’ 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 sued Harvard University over similar data, saying it refused to provide admissions records the Justice Department demanded to ensure the school stopped using affirmative action.

“This administration’s crusade against D.E.I. is dangerous,”  New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement celebrating the ruling. “Students should not have to live in fear that their personal data will be handed over to the federal government, just as schools should not have to scramble to produce years of sensitive information to satisfy an arbitrary and unlawful demand.”

Upon taking office last year, the Trump administration has spent an inordinate amount of time and energy ensuring that colleges aren’t letting in too many Black and brown students. 

In February of last year, the Education Department submitted an open letter to public colleges and universities threatening to pull funding if the school is found to use race as the basis of any of its programs or admissions policies. The Trump administration then spent much of last year threatening lawsuits and investigations, and withdrawing federal funding from universities such as Harvard, Brown, and Northwestern. 

The downwind consequences of this DEI crackdown have included the cancellation of long-standing traditions such as affinity graduations and the University of Alabama ending student-run publications focused on Black and women’s issues. Sure, the cost of living is steadily increasing as the job market weakens, but at least the Trump administration is focusing on the issues that truly matter: preventing Black students from getting into colleges and making damn sure the ones that do aren’t comfortable once they get there. 

SEE ALSO:

Mizzou Pulls Funding From Black Student Organizations

How Universities Are Quietly Killing Black Student Life Without Saying DEI