A federal judge extended deadlines for private nonprofit colleges and certain higher education associations to submit race-and-sex admissions data to the U.S. Department of Education, granting more time until April 24. The ruling also allows additional entities to join a legal challenge over the department’s data-collection survey. The judge’s decision covers members of the Association of American Universities and multiple independent college associations, along with specific colleges including Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Middlebury, Sarah Lawrence, Swarthmore, and Vassar. The Education Department said the data are needed to test compliance with the 2023 Supreme Court ruling limiting race-conscious admissions. Seventeen Democratic attorneys general had sued the department over alleged failure to follow proper procedures and an “onerous burden” placed on colleges. Earlier in the month, the same judge temporarily blocked enforcement against public colleges in the states represented in the suit. Higher education admissions leaders are now facing moving procedural deadlines, potential enforcement uncertainty, and a growing documentation burden during ongoing litigation.