A Boston judge halts Trump’s suppression of college admissions data in an interim ruling
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A US judge in Boston on Friday temporarily blocked the President Donald Trump from ordering colleges to collect and provide detailed data on race and student admissions, bringing the near-term withdrawal of 17 Democratic attorneys general who sued to prevent the policy from taking effect.
US District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, a George W. Bush appointee, issued a temporary restraining order on Friday that prevented the administration from immediately withholding detailed information from colleges and universities across the US.
Trump announced the new effort last August as part of a broader campaign from the administration to ensure that universities do not use race as a reason for admission, in line with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision that banned so-called “race-based”.
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The Supreme Court building in Washington, DC (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The decision forced many colleges to change their admissions process for the first time in decades. But Trump and other Republicans have criticized what they say is a lack of enforcement, saying many universities have failed to adjust their admissions processes quickly or comprehensively enough to comply.
Trump’s August memo directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to require colleges to report more information to the federal government “to provide adequate transparency on admissions.”
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Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks at a press conference at Massapequa High School on May 30, 2025. (Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
As part of that effort, all state-funded universities were ordered to submit to the Department of Education race and gender admissions data from previous years, as well as information on the total number of undergraduate applicants and enrollment size.
But Democratic attorneys general suing to block the policy argued this week that they were not given enough time to compile the vast amount of information — about seven years — required by the administration.
They also say the Trump administration’s efforts are an attempt to turn the Department of Education’s main statistical agency, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), into “a vehicle for law enforcement and the advancement of party policy.”
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Headquarters of the US Department of Education in Washington, DC (J. David Ake/Getty Images)
Judge Saylor’s interim order extends the deadline for another 12 days, until March 25, to allow the court to consider the case filed by the states, and provide for “an orderly resolution of the issues,” according to the brief order.
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It was not clear whether the Trump administration would oppose the order. Neither the Justice Department nor the Education Department immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
