Federal Judge Temporarily Halts Trump Initiative To Obtain Race Data From Colleges
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from asking universities to collect race information when admitting new students, according to Reuters. Colleges that participate in federal student financial programs were asked to share data on students’ race and sex.
The department would use the information to monitor its compliance with the US Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that ended affirmative action in higher education. But US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued a temporary restraining order.
Trump’s adminstration asking colleges to collect data about race
The data in question would be collected through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System surveys, which the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics has used since 1986 to gather information from universities on areas such as finances, admissions, and outcomes.
The survey was revised at Trump’s direction, following an August memo in which he pointed to insufficient data to determine whether race continued to influence admissions after the Supreme Court’s ruling, citing the widespread use of “diversity statements” and other explicit and implicit racial proxies.
Federal judge blocks Trump
Last year, a federal judge struck down two Trump administration directives that sought to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in schools and universities.
Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the US District Court in Maryland ruled that the Department of Education violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that would maintain their DEI initiatives.
The case centered on two Department of Education memos that urged schools and universities to end all “race-based decision-making” or risk losing federal funding.
Image:Kylie Cooper/Reuters
