Education Blue states sue Trump administration over new race-based reporting requirements for colleges by Lexi Lonas Cochran - 03/11/26 1:21 PM ET by Lexi Lonas Cochran - 03/11/26 1:21 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Seventeen Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over new race-based reporting requirements for universities targeting admissions, financial aid and student performance data.   The lawsuit is challenging the new “Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement” (ACTS) survey that requires schools to provide years of admissions and student data broken down by race and other aspects to ensure schools aren’t engaging in affirmative action. It is a big change from the basic information the federal government has collected from schools over the years for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.  The lawsuit says “the sheer amount of data sought through the ACTS survey would place a considerable burden” on colleges.   The blue states argue the reporting requirements are costly and will be used as a tool by the administration to launch politically motivated investigations. The attorneys general of the states also argue the high demand of information will make it difficult for schools to produce usable data to the government on such short notice. “The Trump Administration is on a fishing expedition — demanding unprecedented amounts of data from our colleges and universities under the guise of enforcing civil rights law,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who represents one of the lead states in the lawsuit. “This is the same administration, I’ll remind you, that gutted the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, leaving thousands of civil rights complaints and investigations in limbo. This latest sham demand threatens to turn a reliable tool into a partisan bludgeon. California is committed to following the law — and we’re going to court to make sure the Trump Administration does the same,” Bonta added.  The other states involved are New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington. The Hill has reached out to the Education Department for comment.   The states say without court intervention schools will go through a costly process that could lead to unusable data and more leverage for the Trump administration to target institutions. If universities refuse, they will face other government penalties.   Add as preferred source on Google Tags affirmative action Affirmative action Rob Bonta Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Education News See All Education Teen charged in death of Georgia teacher during prank-gone-wrong releases statement by Michael Bartiromo 1 hour ago Education  /  1 hour ago