Court Pauses Federal College Race-Data Request

On April 4, 2026, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV issued a preliminary injunction that pauses a federal demand for detailed admissions data from public colleges in 17 states. The order halts the Education Department’s immediate collection while the legal challenge proceeds, and the judge described the rollout as rushed and chaotic. The pause does not affect private institutions outside the plaintiff states.

The data collection was created through the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS), which was added to IPEDS after the Presidential Memorandum "Ensuring Transparency in Higher Education Admissions" in August 2025. NCES opened the ACTS collection on December 18, 2025, and institutions were originally asked to submit records by March 18, 2026. Education Secretary Linda McMahon had said the agency would seek disaggregated race and sex information for applicants, admitted students and enrollees, retroactively reported for the past seven years and, in some descriptions, dating as far back as 2019; the requested fields also included test-score and grade-point average ranges.

Plaintiff states argue that the new rules will impose heavy burdens on campuses and risk student privacy, and several institutional groups have asked for longer deadlines. Courts have already given limited extensions in some cases, and litigation will determine whether the ACTS requirements can be enforced. Colleges are assessing technical steps to protect sensitive data while they comply or seek relief.

Nevertheless, if courts ultimately allow ACTS to proceed, institutions will need stronger privacy protections, clear suppression rules, and funding to carry out the work. Consequently, the debate about transparency and student confidentiality will likely shape campus data policies for years.