ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL OPPOSES U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROPOSAL IMPOSING BURDENSOME DATA COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS ON SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL OPPOSES U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PROPOSAL IMPOSING BURDENSOME DATA COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS ON SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES

December 15, 2025

Chicago- Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, today sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education reaffirming opposition to the Trump administration's proposal requiring colleges and universities to submit data linking race to admissions, financial aid and student performance.

The Department of Education claims to be seeking data to assist it in enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race. In their comment letter, Raoul and the coalition argue that the proposal would not aid Title VI enforcement, imposes unreasonable burdens on schools and universities, compromises student privacy and is unlikely to result in useful data being collected.

"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."

On Aug. 7, President Trump directed the Department of Education to expand the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), a required survey, to address alleged concerns about race-conscious admissions practices in violation of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 600 U.S. 181 (2023).

The new survey section will collect a broad range of data on undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid and student outcomes, including data by race and sex on the institutions' applied, admitted and enrolled cohorts, disaggregated by admission test score, GPA, family income, Pell Grant eligibility and parental education; average high school grade point average and admission test scores. The survey also includes the count of students admitted via early action, early decision or regular admissions. Additionally, the survey will include data about students receiving financial aid, including the average amount, cost of attendance, graduation rates and graduates' final cumulative grade point average.

On Aug. 15, the Department of Education submitted a request for comment over a 60-day period to gather public feedback regarding the expansion of IPEDS. On Nov. 13, the department submitted a second request for public comment, with submission open until Dec. 15.

In their comment letter, Attorney General Raoul and the coalition argue that the Department of Education has failed to respond to the many substantive concerns they and other members of the public expressed in response to the department's National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) August 15 request for comment on the proposal.

The attorneys general urge the Department of Education to withdraw the proposal or to, at a minimum, delay its implementation to give more opportunities to gather and respond to stakeholder feedback. Raoul and the coalition argue that the proposed data collection is neither necessary nor beneficial to the Department of Education's stated goal of enforcing Title VI, imposes unreasonable burdens on colleges and universities and lacks privacy protections for students.

Joining Attorney General Raoul in filing the comment letter are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.