California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Mar. 11 that he is co-leading a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s new requirements for colleges and universities to submit detailed data linking race to admissions, financial aid, and student performance.
The lawsuit argues that these unprecedented demands could make it nearly impossible for institutions to provide usable data, potentially leading to costly investigations and enforcement actions. The coalition of attorneys general contends that the policy may be used for partisan purposes rather than legitimate civil rights enforcement.
“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 Attorney General Bonta. “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.”
President Trump directed on August 7, 2025, that the U.S. Department of Education expand its Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey in response to concerns about race-conscious admissions practices following a Supreme Court decision. The expanded survey would require schools to collect extensive information disaggregated by race and sex across multiple categories including admissions cohorts, test scores, family income, financial aid details, graduation rates, and more.
Bonta said collecting this level of detail would force colleges into burdensome new efforts within an unreasonable timeframe without guaranteeing high-quality results or achieving stated goals. He noted that previous changes to IPEDS underwent rigorous review but this overhaul was implemented rapidly without such vetting or consideration for institutional burden.
Attorney General Bonta co-leads this legal action with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, joined by attorneys general from several other states.
The California Attorney General’s office promotes transparency through tools like OpenJustice for publishing criminal justice data according to the official website. It serves as an integral part of California’s executive branch according to the official website and acts as chief law enforcement authority focusing on state laws, public safety, civil rights initiatives, consumer protection, and environmental justice according to the official website. Rob Bonta leads this office according to the official website, which exercises authority statewide according to the official website while advancing policies in areas such as civil rights and economic security according to the official website.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have significant implications for how federal agencies collect educational data nationwide and how states respond when they believe federal requirements are overly burdensome or politically motivated.
