A federal judge blocked the Education Department from enforcing a deadline requiring public colleges in 17 states to submit admissions data disaggregated by race and sex. The court said the department’s timeline and rulemaking process were “rushed and chaotic,” even while recognizing the agency’s broad legal authority to collect some admissions-related information. U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV found the expedited timeline likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision followed a March lawsuit by Democratic attorneys general, arguing the data-collection demand exceeded the approving authority and was “arbitrary and capricious,” with NCES unable to engage meaningfully during notice-and-comment. The ruling applies to the named states including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. The dispute is closely tied to enforcement questions after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision limiting race-conscious admissions. For institutions, the ruling delays compliance steps and puts additional pressure on how federal agencies operationalize post-court admissions monitoring.