Court Pauses Federal College Race-Data Request

On April 4, 2026, a federal judge in Boston paused a government demand that colleges send new admissions data. Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV granted a preliminary injunction that applies to public universities in the 17 states that filed suit. The coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general has challenged the timing and scope of the request, and the case will continue in court.

The data collection was created as part of the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS), which was added to the federal IPEDS system after a presidential memorandum in August 2025. The ACTS collection opened on December 18, 2025, and institutions were originally asked to submit data by March 18, 2026. The National Center for Education Statistics was to collect information on applicants, admitted students and enrollees, disaggregated by race and sex, and other measures including test scores and grade-point averages, with lookback years dating as far back as 2019.

State officials have argued institutions were given too little time and that student privacy could be harmed. The Education Department has said the extra data would improve transparency about admissions practices while it reviews compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling.