17 blue states sue Trump admin over policy requiring colleges to prove their admissions policies aren't racist

17 Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Trump administration over its policy to require colleges to collect and report demographic data proving they are not considering race in their admissions decisions.

Last August, President Donald Trump ordered the policy amid concerns that colleges were using personal statements and other parts of the application process to indirectly factor race into admissions decisions. The move follows the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that struck down affirmative action in college admissions, though the court said schools may still consider how race has affected an applicant’s life if the student chooses to share it in an admissions essay.

Trump’s order directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to require colleges to report the data “to provide adequate transparency into admissions.” Schools must submit that data by March 18. Failure to comply could result in facing enforcement actions under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which governs federal financial aid.

The lawsuit is made up of a coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general and was filed in federal court in Boston.

“This Administration’s unlawful and haphazard actions are threatening the well-being of Massachusetts students and the prosperity of our colleges and universities,” said Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell in a statement, according to the Associated Press. “There is no way for institutions to reasonably deliver accurate data in the federal government’s rushed and arbitrary time frame, and it is unfair for schools to be threatened with fines, potential losses of funding, and baseless investigations should they not fulfill the Administration’s request.”

Campbell also argued that the demand is rushed and “leaves institutions vulnerable to inadvertent errors and unreliable data that could lead to cost penalties and baseless investigations into their practices and that jeopardizes student privacy and could lead to individuals being easily identified.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education defended the policy requesting data collection, saying in a statement that American taxpayers invest over $100 billion into higher education each year and deserve transparency.

“The Department’s efforts will expand an existing transparency tool to show how universities are taking race into consideration in admissions. What exactly are State AGs trying to shield universities from?” said spokesperson Ellen Keast.

The policy also mirrors the settlement agreements that Brown University and Columbia University reached with the Trump administration to restore federal research funding after legal disputes. As part of those agreements, the universities agreed to provide demographic data on admitted students, release that information publicly, and be subject to audits.