{"aiVersion":"1","content":{"id":"cmnl245f80004udvtpy8t8jxt","slug":"court-pauses-federal-college-race-data-request-20260405","title":"Court Pauses Federal College Race-Data Request","level":"MEDIUM","publishedAt":"2026-04-05T01:02:26.168Z"},"topic":{"slug":"court-pauses-federal-college-race-data-request-20260405","category":"education"},"article":{"paragraphs":["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."],"wordCount":194,"readTime":2},"vocabulary":[{"word":"disaggregated","example":"The report shows disaggregated data for each student group.","phonetic":"/ˌdɪs.əˈɡreɪ.ɡeɪ.tɪd/","definition":"Broken down into smaller groups for analysis (for example, by race or sex)."},{"word":"injunction","example":"The injunction stopped the deadline for data submission.","phonetic":"/ɪnˈdʒʌŋk.ʃən/","definition":"A court order that stops an action temporarily or permanently."},{"word":"compliance","example":"The college checked its records to ensure compliance.","phonetic":"/kəmˈplaɪ.əns/","definition":"Following rules, laws, or requests from authorities."},{"word":"retroactively","example":"The agency asked for information to be reported retroactively.","phonetic":"/ˌrɛtrəˈæk.tɪv.li/","definition":"Applied to a past period rather than only going forward."}],"quiz":[{"answer":"Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS)","question":"What is the name of the new IPEDS survey?"},{"answer":"December 18, 2025","question":"When did the ACTS collection open?"},{"answer":"a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general","question":"Who filed the lawsuit?"}],"discussion":[{"question":"Do you think data about applicants should be collected for public use? Why or why not?"},{"question":"Have you or someone you know worked in a college office that handles data? What was that like?"},{"question":"What concerns do you have about long deadlines for big reporting tasks?"},{"question":"Would you trust a government database with student information? Explain."}]}