17 states sue Trump’s Education Department over chilling race-based ‘fishing expedition’

Seventeen Democratic-led states have just filed a lawsuit against Trump‘s Education Department, challenging its new race-based reporting requirements for universities. This move comes as colleges face demands for an unprecedented amount of admissions, financial aid, and student performance data, all broken down by race.

This lawsuit targets the “Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement” (ACTS) survey. It’s a massive shift from the basic information the federal government has historically collected for its Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The new survey specifically aims to gather years of detailed student data to ensure schools aren’t engaging in affirmative action practices. 

Per The Hill, the states involved argue that these new reporting requirements are going to be incredibly costly for universities. They also believe this data collection is essentially a tool for the administration to launch politically motivated investigations. Additionally, they have been given a very short window in which to collect this data.

Honestly, there is no reason to hunt for race-specific data except for persecution

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose state is one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said, “The Trump Administration is on a fishing expedition — demanding unprecedented amounts of data from our colleges and universities under the guise of enforcing civil rights law.” He also pointed out that this is the same administration that “gutted the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, leaving thousands of civil rights complaints and investigations in limbo.” 

He views this latest demand as something that “threatens to turn a reliable tool into a partisan bludgeon.” California is ready to comply with the law, and Bonta made it clear they will go to court to ensure the Trump administration does the same. His comments highlight the tension between the states and the federal government over how civil rights law should be enforced and the role of data collection in that. 

Beyond California, the states joining the lawsuit include New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington. It’s a pretty significant coalition of states pushing back against these new mandates.

Without court intervention, schools face a costly and potentially chaotic process. The states are concerned that this could result in unusable data, yet it would give the Trump administration greater leverage to target institutions. If universities refuse to comply with these new requirements, they face additional government penalties, which adds another layer of pressure. 

It’s a lose-lose situation for colleges if this survey goes through unchallenged. It is also just another move by Trump’s education department to kill diversity programs. The clearest hint of their new direction is who they are choosing to honor as part of the country’s 250th anniversary.