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.
In-house legal teams at colleges and universities should review all agreements with the U.S. Department of Education, including federal grant agreements, Title VI compliance certifications, and any data sharing or reporting addendums. Key clauses to scrutinize are mandatory data reporting schedules (especially those linking race to admissions, financial aid, and academic outcomes), privacy and confidentiality provisions governing student data, indemnification terms related to data accuracy or misuse, and audit rights reserved by the Department. Teams should also examine any language that could permit the use of reported DEI-related data for enforcement actions beyond Title VI compliance. Potential changes may involve negotiating narrower data scopes, adding explicit restrictions prohibiting the use of race-linked data to target lawful diversity initiatives, requiring data anonymization or aggregation where feasible, and securing commitments that data will be used solely for stated compliance purposes.
Entity
U.S. Department of Education
Also known as: Department of Education
Industry
EducationOfficial Press Release
https://portal.ct.gov/ag/press-releases/2025-press-releases/data-collection-proposal
10142025 ipeds letter.pdf?rev=511feab3d54a4cf6844020e03a8d91
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ag/press_releases/2025/10142025-ipeds-letter.pdf?rev=511feab3d54a4cf6844020e03a8d916b&hash=87F456E9CECBFC2953355E975842DA29
Connecticut Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://portal.ct.gov/AG/Privacy/Privacy-Resources
"Department of Education (ED)"
"Title VI, which prohibits discrimination based on race."
"poses concerns related to student privacy."
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.
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.
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.