Attorney General Clark Sues Trump Administration to Stop Unlawful Data Demand to Colleges and Universities

New Department of Education Data Reporting Requirements Jeopardize Student Privacy and Threaten Baseless Investigations of Colleges and Universities

Attorney General Charity Clark today joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in challenging the Trump Administration's demand that higher education institutions provide new data via a recently added component to the Integrated Postsecondary Education System (IPEDS), a collection of interrelated surveys administered by the Department of Education. The stated purpose of this new survey is to track institutions' compliance with the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard , which limits how race can be considered in admissions. But IPEDS is not a tool for enforcing these requirements and should not be used to attack race-conscious admissions practices. The rushed attempt to convert it for that purpose leaves institutions vulnerable to inadvertent errors and unreliable data that could lead to costly penalties and baseless investigations into their practices . This vast data demand also jeopardizes student privacy by requesting in-depth information that could be tied to individual students.

"The Trump Administration's weaponization of data to further its anti-DEI social agenda unnecessarily burdens colleges and universities and puts student privacy at risk," said Attorney General Clark. "This is another illegal attempt to take a trusted governmental tool and use it to further the Trump Administration's political agenda, and we are going to court to stop it."

Administered through the Department of Education, IPEDS is a mandatory survey that gathers data from colleges, universities, and technical and vocational programs participating in federal student financial programs. Since 1986, it has served as a valuable tool for reliable data collection and statistical reporting by universities. On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued a memo stating that IPEDS would now become a tool to track "consideration of race in higher education" and investigate universities' compliance with Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.

Following the memo, Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced new requirements for institutions, demanding they report data via IPEDS disaggregated by race and sex and retroactively report data from the past seven years. On December 18, 2025, following a notice and comment period in which members of the coalition provided comments strongly opposing the new rules, the Trump Administration finalized the new requirements. The deadline for institutions to provide the new data is March 18, 2026.

In the lawsuit, Attorney General Clark and the coalition argue that the Department of Education 's rushed implementation of the new data requirements ignores the incredible burden they place on institutions and dramatically increases the possibility of inadvertent reporting errors and unreliable data. For example, in their haste to roll out the new requirements, the Department failed to provide definitions for critical terms, leaving universities guessing what information they are supposed to provide - and facing severe financial penalties if they guess wrong. Furthermore, the Trump Administration has eliminated hundreds of positions within the Department , including within the very offices responsible for providing clarity about the requirements to universities.

The coalition also argues the new data demands jeopardize student privacy and could lead to individuals being easily identified. Many institutions pledged data protection obligations to their students, which are placed at risk by the Administration's new IPEDS demands.

The attorneys general argue the Trump Administration's actions are contrary to law, fail to observe the procedure required by law, and are arbitrary and capricious. They argue the implementation of the new data requirements was unlawful and will place an undue burden on colleges and universities.

Joining Attorney General Clark in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Washington .

A copy of the complaint is available on our website.

This lawsuit is the 44^th case Attorney General Clark has brought against the Trump Administration since President Trump took office in January 2025. For more information on actions taken by the Attorney General on behalf of Vermonters, visit our website .

CONTACT: Amelia Vath, Senior Advisor to the Attorney General, 802-828-3171