DOJ, ED Demand for Harvard Admissions Info Dismissed—for Now

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the Trump administration’s legal attempt to force Harvard University to provide certain admissions information, though the court said the government could refile the lawsuit.

The Justice Department filed the litigation against Harvard in February, accusing it of unlawfully withholding “information necessary to determine whether Harvard, which has a recent history of racial discrimination, is continuing to discriminate in its admissions.” In an amended complaint in May, it added allegations that the university was also withholding this info from the Education Department.

But on Monday, Judge Myong J. Joun of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts concluded the administration hadn’t made its case sufficiently at this point to survive Harvard’s motion to dismiss it.

“I decide a limited question: whether the Government has adequately established, at this stage and on the materials properly considered, that it satisfied the prerequisites to judicial enforcement,” Joun wrote. He added that his “ruling does not determine whether Harvard has discriminated, whether the agencies may lawfully seek appropriately defined applicant-level data, or whether Harvard may ultimately be required to provide such data.”

Joun, a Biden appointee, said he dismissed the suit without prejudice—meaning the administration can refile it—because the government’s “deficiency may be cured by additional administrative steps or by an adequately supported pleading identifying compliance with the applicable prerequisites.”

The administration had accused Harvard of not providing applicant-level data needed for its reviews, while Harvard argued the Justice Department didn’t engage with its objections to the scope and burden of its requests.

“Harvard’s rampant discrimination against teenage applicants was well-documented in a landmark Supreme Court case that will forever attach Harvard’s name to the illegal use of race preferences,” ED spokesperson Ellen Keast said in an emailed statement. “When the government asked for admissions data to determine whether Harvard has changed its ways, the school refused and a Democrat-appointed judge is now shielding Harvard from accountability. Students should be judged on their merit and accomplishments, not the color of their skin, and the Trump Administration will work tirelessly to ensure Harvard abides by obligations to uphold the law.”

The DOJ said it plans to refile the lawsuit.

“The Court dismissed the case without prejudice on a narrow pleading question and invited the United States to amend,” a spokesperson wrote to Inside Higher Ed. “We will do exactly that. Nothing in the ruling changes the core problem: Harvard continues to refuse to provide the admissions information it is required to produce as a recipient of federal funds under Title VI. The United States will file an amended complaint and continue to hold Harvard to its obligations.”