ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO STOP UNLAWFUL DATA DEMAND TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

ATTORNEY GENERAL RAOUL SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO STOP UNLAWFUL DATA DEMAND TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

March 11, 2026

New Reporting Requirements Jeopardize Student Privacy, Threaten Schools with Baseless Investigations

Chicago - Attorney General Kwame Raoul 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 purpose of this new survey is purportedly to track institutions' compliance with the Supreme Court decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which says that race cannot be used as a factor in admissions. In reality, the survey seeks information that the administration will use to draw unreasonable conclusions and unlawfully expand its reach into admissions and other university policies.

Raoul and the coalition argue in their lawsuit that the rushed implementation of the new survey requirements leaves institutions vulnerable to inadvertent errors and unreliable data that could lead to costly penalties and baseless investigations into their practices. The lawsuit also argues the new requirements jeopardize student privacy by requesting in-depth information about individual students.

"The Department of Education's demand represents the latest push by the administration to malign lawful diversity, equity and inclusion efforts," Raoul said. "This requirement imposes undue burdens on higher education institutions and presents a real risk to student privacy."

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. The data collected by IPEDS helps tell the story of who has access to higher education in this country. But on Aug. 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 - despite admissions decisions being multifaceted qualitative processes that cannot be assessed by mere data alone. The president's message was clear: The Department of Education would use its survey to collect information to build its case against the values of diversity in colleges and universities across the country.

Raoul and the coalition's lawsuit also asserts that the department's new data demands risk violating student privacy and could lead to individuals being easily identified. The sensitive information colleges and universities would have to share includes deeply private information, such as information related to student income, test scores and grade point average. Many institutions have data protection obligations to students, which are placed at risk by the administration's new IPEDS demands.

In their lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition argue that the department's rushed implementation of the new data requirements ignores the incredible burden they place on institutions and dramatically increases the possibility of reporting mistakes and unreliable data. For example, in rushing 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 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 Raoul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington.