California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to block the expansion of IPEDS data collection requiring colleges to submit race-linked student data. The lawsuit argues the demand is arbitrary, capricious, and burdensome, and could enable costly partisan investigations. A multistate coalition co-led the challenge.
The states seek an injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Education from implementing the new IPEDS data collection requirements.
In-house legal teams should review federal grant agreements, compliance certifications, and IPEDS participation agreements with the Department of Education. Key clauses to examine include data collection and reporting obligations, statutory compliance requirements (particularly under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act), burden of compliance assessments, data security and privacy provisions, and penalties for non-compliance. Given allegations that the expanded data demand is arbitrary, capricious, and overly broad, teams should consider challenging requests exceeding statutory authority, negotiating to limit data scope to minimally necessary elements, ensuring data aggregation to protect student privacy, and seeking injunctive relief against enforcement of the new requirements.
Entity
U.S. Department of Education
Also known as: Department of Education
Industry
OtherOfficial Press Release
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-sues-trump-administration-over-%E2%80%9Cfishing-expedition%E2%80%9D
001 03.11.2026 Complaint
https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/001%2003.11.2026%20Complaint.pdf
California Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/privacy-enforcement-actions
"U.S. Department of Education"
"Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964"
"data linking race to admissions, financial aid, and student performance"
New York Attorney General Letitia James, joined by 16 other states, sued the U.S. Department of Education over a new survey requiring colleges to submit extensive student data, arguing it violates the Administrative Procedure Act and threatens student privacy. The lawsuit seeks to block the mandate and prevent penalties for non-compliance.
Attorney General Nick Brown of Washington led a coalition of 17 state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education on March 11, 2026, challenging new requirements for the IPEDS survey that demand race- and sex-disaggregated student data retroactive seven years. The coalition alleges the rushed rule violates the law, jeopardizes student privacy by collecting in-depth student information, and imposes undue burdens on institutions with unclear data definitions and risk of severe penalties for errors. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the rule, arguing it was arbitrarily implemented without proper procedure and poses widespread privacy risks to students.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, joined by 16 other attorneys general, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to stop new data collection requirements under IPEDS that threaten student privacy by requesting sensitive personal information including income, test scores, and GPA.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell co-led a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration to stop new data reporting requirements for colleges and universities through IPEDS. The requirements demand detailed student data disaggregated by race and sex, retroactive for seven years, which the coalition argues jeopardizes student privacy and could lead to baseless investigations.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education to stop new data reporting requirements under IPEDS that demand detailed student information. The coalition argues the requirements are unlawful, arbitrary, and jeopardize student privacy by requesting in-depth data that could lead to inadvertent errors and baseless investigations. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block the implementation of these requirements.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined 18 other attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing a U.S. Department of Education proposal to expand data collection on race, admissions, and student performance from colleges and universities. The coalition argues the proposal is unreasonably burdensome, unlikely to yield quality data, and could be misused to target lawful diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, raising student privacy concerns.