US Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Effort to Secure Race Data From Colleges
Order pauses requirement for universities to report race-based admissions data amid legal challenge by Democratic states.
Staff WriterMar 16, 2026, 11:20 AMA federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from compelling universities to submit data by next week demonstrating they no longer consider race in admissions.
US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Boston issued the temporary restraining order at the request of 17 Democratic state attorneys, who challenged a new element of the Education Department’s annual surveys.
Colleges participating in federal student aid programmes had been asked to provide admissions data by race and sex, which the department intended to use to monitor compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling ending affirmative action in higher education.
Judge Saylor, a Republican appointee, extended the looming Wednesday deadline to 25 March, allowing time for the states’ case to be heard and an “orderly resolution” reached.
The disputed data would be collected via the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, long used to gather information on finances, admissions, and outcomes. The surveys were modified following a Trump memorandum citing insufficient data to assess whether race still influenced admissions, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon subsequently required universities to report race- and sex-specific data for the undergraduate applicant pool and enrolment, covering the 2025–2026 academic year and six preceding years.
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