Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with 16 other state attorneys general, has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education expressing opposition to a proposed rule that would require colleges and universities to submit detailed data linking race to admissions, financial aid, and student performance.
The Department of Education states that the new data collection is intended to help enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race. However, in their comment letter, Raoul and his colleagues argue that the proposal would not support Title VI enforcement efforts. They contend it would create significant administrative burdens for educational institutions, threaten student privacy, and likely fail to produce useful information.
“This attempt by the Department of Education represents the latest effort by the Trump administration to cherry-pick information to implement their anti-diversity agenda,” Raoul said. “We call on the Department of Education to reject this flawed proposal that would threaten students’ privacy and fail to support schools or their students.”
President Trump directed the Department of Education on August 7 to expand the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a mandatory survey for higher education institutions. The expansion aims to address concerns about race-conscious admissions practices following the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (600 U.S. 181 [2023]). The expanded survey seeks extensive data on undergraduate and graduate admissions processes—including applicant demographics by race and sex—alongside information such as test scores, grade point averages, family income levels, Pell Grant eligibility, parental education background, admission types (early action/decision or regular), financial aid details including average amounts awarded, cost of attendance figures, graduation rates, and final cumulative GPAs.
The Department opened two public comment periods regarding this proposal: an initial request for feedback was issued on August 15 via its National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), followed by a second request on November 13 with comments accepted until December 15.
In their joint letter, Raoul and other attorneys general claim that many substantive concerns raised during these comment periods have not been addressed by federal officials. They urge either withdrawal or at least a delay in implementing the proposed changes so stakeholders can provide further input.
The coalition maintains that collecting this level of detail is unnecessary for enforcing civil rights laws in education settings and could place excessive demands on schools while failing to ensure adequate protections for student privacy.
Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin joined Attorney General Raoul in submitting these comments.