States accuse Trump of DEI witch hunt over demand for college student data  

With the administration seeking seven years' worth of detailed data from every U.S. university by next week, a coalition of states says student privacy and institutional funding are at risk.

by Erik Uebelacker, Court House News, March 11, 2026

(CN) — A coalition of 17 states is suing the Trump administration over its new Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement Survey, which the states claim is an unlawful and intrusive demand for student data in the midst of the government’s war on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In a 43-page complaint filed Wednesday in Massachusetts federal court, the states argue the new survey is transforming collegiate data collecting from a “reliable tool for methodical statistical reporting to a mechanism for law enforcement and the furthering of partisan policy aims.”

They take aim at an executive order from President Donald Trump, signed last August, which sought to change an annual batch of surveys that gathers data from every U.S. university to include a test of “race-based admissions practices.”

Late last year, the Office of Management and Budget greenlit the new addition to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), in the form of the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement Survey. The states say the survey is “unprecedented in scope,” seeking a plethora of data not just from the most recent school year, but also the six years prior.

“Never before has IPEDS sought retroactive data; never before has IPEDS sought such a vast array of disaggregated data; and never before has the Department of Education so quickly effected a major change to IPEDS,” the states claim.

Time is of the essence. The deadline to submit that data to the Department of Education is March 18. If the schools miss the deadline, or complete it in a fashion the government deems “incomplete or unsatisfactory,” the states say they could face fines or lose federal funding.

“Now, many [Institutions of Higher Education] must submit an unprecedented quantity of data, much of it containing students’ personal information, without essential guidance from the federal government that would typically accompany such a dramatic change,” the coalition argues.

And in addition to the logistical issues, the states claim the department’s demand for data across multiple categories — including race, gender, GPA, test scores, income level and academic program — poses a risk that the survey results “may inadvertently reveal the identity of students,” jeopardizing the schools’ obligations to maintain student privacy.

They say Trump has made it clear the new survey will be used as an unlawful check on affirmative action and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. In their lawsuit, the states point to Trump’s own language in the executive order, which chastised universities’ supposedly “rampant use of ‘diversity statements’ and other overt and hidden racial proxies.”

The coalition argues the government’s actions are arbitrary and capricious, thus violating the Administrative Procedure Act.

“Once again, this administration is trying to stretch the federal government’s authority to serve its own political agenda and target DEI initiatives,” New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is part of the coalition, said in a statement. “Colleges and universities should not be forced to turn over massive amounts of sensitive student data to satisfy another witch hunt. We are going to court to stop this unlawful mandate and protect institutions and students across the country.”

According to James, several public universities in New York, including the State University of New York and City University of New York, could be forced to divert staff and resources to meet the government’s short-notice deadline.

The Department of Education and its secretary, Linda McMahon, as well as the Office of Management and Budget and its head, Russell Vought, are listed as defendants in the lawsuit.

The states in the suing coalition include Massachusetts, California, Maryland, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Trump’s ongoing attack on so-called diversity, equity and inclusion practices on college campuses have landed him in court before.

Last year, a federal judge in Maryland blocked the Department of Education from threatening to eliminate federal funding for schools that consider race in admissions, hiring, financial aid or any other aspect of campus life, including curricula.

That ruling came in response to another lawsuit, brought by the American Federation of Teachers, challenging the department’s actions as arbitrary and capricious.

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