Administration to Collect Race, Gender Data From Colleges

President Trump on Thursday directed the Education Department to compel colleges to turn over detailed data on the race and gender of applicants, an effort to ensure affirmative actions policies aren't being used in admissions decisions after the Supreme Court's ruling against them in 2023. The memo Trump signed says "the lack of available admissions data from universities—paired with the rampant use of 'diversity statements' and other overt and hidden racial proxies—continues to raise concerns about whether race is actually used in admissions decisions in practice," NPR reports.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon quickly told the National Center for Education Statistics to begin collecting the additional data from schools. "The Trump Administration will ensure that meritocracy and excellence once again characterize American higher education," she said in a statement. The Education Department has broad sway over that data collection, per the New York Times, and colleges agree to provide data when joining student aid programs. Legal challenges to the plan still are possible, including on student privacy grounds.

A former Education Department official said there are other ways to ensure fairness in the system, such as by the government demanding answers about college costs. "There is a real need for reporting and transparency on what actual prices are," said Aaron Ament of the National Student Legal Defense Network. "This is a tactic to try to stop institutions from helping disadvantaged students."