A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Trump administration’s attempt to force Harvard University to provide admissions information.
The ruling leaves the central admissions questions unresolved
Judge Myong J. Joun of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts concluded that the administration had not made its case sufficiently at this point to survive Harvard’s motion to dismiss. The decision addresses whether the government had met the threshold to keep its lawsuit moving, rather than deciding the underlying dispute over Harvard’s admissions practices.¹²
Judge Joun wrote that the ruling does not determine whether Harvard discriminated, whether the agencies may lawfully seek appropriately defined applicant-level data, or whether Harvard may ultimately have to provide those records. Each question remains open after the dismissal, including the government’s authority to seek information tied to individual applicants.¹²
Judge Joun dismissed the suit without prejudice, which leaves the administration able to file it again. The Justice Department said it plans to refile. Department of Justice spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said by email that the court dismissed the case on narrow procedural grounds and invited the United States to amend its complaint.¹²
Judge Joun wrote that the ruling does not determine whether Harvard discriminated, whether the agencies may lawfully seek appropriately defined applicant-level data, or whether Harvard may ultimately have to provide those records.
The government sought admissions records and applicant-level details
The Justice Department sued Harvard in February, accusing the university of unlawfully withholding information needed to determine whether it was continuing to discriminate in admissions. The government’s case therefore focused on obtaining records for a federal review, while its accusation about discrimination remained unresolved by Judge Joun’s ruling.¹²
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Read More →The administration said Harvard tried to stymie the federal review by withholding documents, including individual students’ application essays. It also alleged that Harvard “slow-walked the pace of production” and refused to provide other materials related to applicant-level admissions decisions. Those claims described the government’s account of the records dispute in its suit.¹²
In an amended complaint in May, the Justice Department added that Harvard was also withholding the information from the Education Department. The administration sought admissions data for the past five academic years, including SAT and ACT scores, G.P.A., extracurricular activities, essays and admission outcomes, with the information separated by race and ethnicity.¹²
The records dispute grew out of a federal compliance review
The dispute began in April last year, when the Trump administration started a compliance review of Harvard’s undergraduate program and its medical and law schools. The administration said the review was meant to determine whether Harvard was following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The document lawsuit later sought records the government said it needed for that examination.¹²
Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v.
The Education Department also asked Harvard to certify that it did not use race as a factor in admissions decisions or in awarding scholarships or financial assistance. Harvard’s incoming freshmen this fall included about forty-three percent who identified as Asian American; Black students accounted for about nine point three percent, roughly half their share three years earlier.¹²
Harvard called the suit part of a wider pressure campaign
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Read More →Harvard portrayed the lawsuit as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against the university, intended to force it into negotiations over administration priorities. In June, Harvard asked Judge Joun to dismiss the documents case or pause it until a final decision in another dispute over information colleges must provide to the government.¹²
That separate case was filed in federal court in Boston in March, when Massachusetts and other states sued the Education Department over expanded data requirements for universities. Education Department spokesperson Ellen Keast said Harvard’s discrimination against teenage applicants was well documented in a landmark Supreme Court case, and described the case as involving the illegal use of race preferences.¹²
Judge Your College's Data Practices
This ruling does not settle whether Harvard discriminated; it only means the government failed a procedural test. The Justice Department plans to refile, so the fight over applicant-level data continues. If you are applying to selective schools, watch how they respond to federal data demands. A university that resists disclosing race-disaggregated admissions data may be signaling something about its practices. Your application materials, including essays and test scores, are part of the record being sought. That means your personal data could become part of a legal dispute.¹²
The data Harvard already reported shows a sharp shift: Black freshmen fell to about 9.3 percent, roughly half their share three years ago, while Asian American students rose to about 43 percent. If you are weighing colleges, this suggests the post-2023 admissions landscape is changing quickly. Use this to ask schools directly about their current class composition and how they ensure fairness without using race as a factor. Also consider that the Education Department asked Harvard to certify it does not use race in admissions or scholarships. If you are a scholarship applicant, that certification matters to your chances.¹²
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