Cases & Developments

After a coalition of states sued the Department of Education alleging its Admissions Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey was unlawful, the Association of American Universities, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, and others moved to intervene in the case and sought a temporary restraining order blocking the survey. After granting the parties’ motion to intervene for the limited purpose of considering their request for a TRO, the court granted the TRO. For institutions covered by the order, which includes AAU member institutions and private-nonprofit colleges in several states, the TRO (1) extends the deadline to complete the ACTS survey through April 14, 2026, and (2) enjoins the Department from enforcing the survey completion deadlines of March 18, 2026, March 31, 2026, or April 8, 2026 against those institutions.

Memorandum Opinion and Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. Plaintiffs, a coalition of states, sued the Department of Education alleging that the Department’s new Admissions Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey is contrary to law, exceeds the Department’s statutory authority, and violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The court held that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their APA arbitrary and capricious claim, finding that the Department “changed its historical position, and rejected multiple comments expressing concern, solely in order to achieve an arbitrary and unexplained deadline.” The court noted the Department’s failure to consider alternatives such as phased implementation or pilot testing was further evidence of the arbitrary and capricious nature of the agency’s action. The court also found that plaintiffs had demonstrated they would face irreparable harm if the preliminary injunction was not granted, given the significant administrative burdens and potential enforcement risks. The preliminary injunction blocks the Department from enforcing the reporting requirements against public institutions within the 17 plaintiff states.

Temporary Restraining Order Extending Deadline. Plaintiffs, a coalition of states, sued the Department of Education challenging the new Admissions Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey, alleging that the survey’s reporting requirements are contrary to law, exceed the Department’s statutory authority, and violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). On March 13, plaintiffs’ request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was granted, extending the deadline for all institutions impacted by the Department’s actions from March 18 to March 25. Following the March 24 hearing on plaintiffs’ motion, the judge has now extended the TRO to April 6, however, the extension is only applicable to public institutions in the 17 plaintiff states. All other impacted institutions are still bound by the March 25 deadline. The judge plans to issue any preliminary injunction decision by ⁠April ​3.

Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief. Plaintiffs, a coalition of states, sued the Department of Education challenging the new Admissions Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey, alleging that the survey’s reporting requirements are contrary to law, exceed the Department’s statutory authority, and violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The complaint asserts that this new survey is the largest expansion in the history of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) survey and, because the reporting requirements were adopted without notice-and-comment rulemaking, the Department’s actions are arbitrary and capricious. The complaint contends that the Department’s intentions with ACTS is to “fundamentally change IPEDS, converting it from a reliable tool for methodical statistical reporting to a mechanism for law enforcement and the furthering of partisan policy aims.” Plaintiffs further allege that (1) the Department is violating the Paperwork Reduction Act by imposing a large-scale data collection requirement without required approval, and (2) the request for years of admissions data places substantial administrative burdens on institutions while risking the disclosure of sensitive student information. On March 13, plaintiffs’ request for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) was granted, extending the deadline to complete the ACTS survey “through March 25, 2026 . . . without prejudice to a further extension of the deadline or other preliminary relief as justice may require.” 

The Association for Institutional Research (AIR) announced that the Department of Education has offered institutions of higher education a conditional extension for submitting data for the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey. Institutions may request an extension until April 8, 2026 conditioned on the institution providing by the original March 18 deadline (1) completion of all ACTS screening questions for all seven ACTS years, and (2) at least three years of ACTS data files. In response to press inquiries, the Department has stated that it will only grant “limited extensions to the reporting deadline where institutions have shown a good faith effort to comply and extraordinary circumstances warranting extension.”  

Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief. Plaintiff, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), filed a lawsuit against Harvard University alleging that the university failed to comply with federal information requests related to a Title VI compliance review of the university’s admissions practices. DOJ contends that while the university has provided aggregated admissions data, it has failed to provide individual level applicant data. DOJ requested applicant data on grade point average, standardized test scores, essays and extracurricular activities—disaggregated by race and ethnicity – with an initial deadline of April 25, 2025. DOJ alleges that the information is necessary to determine whether the university is “continuing to discriminate in its admissions process” and further alleges that the university’s refusal violates Title VI regulations and breaches the university’s contractual obligations as a recipient of federal funding. DOJ seeks a court order requiring the university to produce the requested records.

The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a comment letter to the Department of Education reiterating its strong opposition to the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) survey component and raising new concerns based on information contained in the Department’s November 13 Information Collection Request (ICR). Specifically, ACE notes the ICR’s imposition of a March 18, 2026 deadline – merely three months from now – for institutions to submit completed ACTS surveys covering seven years of admissions-related data. The letter also expresses concern with language indicating that institutions that fail to submit completed surveys by the deadline may face fines of up to $71,545 for each violation.  ACE’s prior letter to the Department outlining additional concerns with the ACTS survey component, may be found here.