Coalition sues Trump over college race data rule

(The Center Square) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of states filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over new federal requirements that colleges report detailed data linking race to admissions, financial aid and student outcomes. The administration says the data will help enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. But the states argue the demands are unprecedented, overly burdensome and likely to produce unreliable data that could be used to launch politically motivated investigations of universities. “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,” Bonta said in a statement. “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.”