A federal judge blocked the Education Department from enforcing an accelerated deadline requiring public colleges in 17 states to submit admissions data disaggregated by race and sex. The ruling by Judge F. Dennis Saylor concluded the request may fall within the Department’s legal authority, but the rushed timeline violated the Administrative Procedure Act, given concerns that the rulemaking process was not adequately finalized. The data collection request ties to a directive following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling that struck down race-conscious admissions programs, with the Education Department seeking compliance through National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) surveys. Saylor noted that the survey was not finalized even after changes to the template, including data fields on admission test scores and GPAs by race and sex. The case includes institutional stakeholders seeking to join, and a hearing is scheduled for April 13 on whether additional parties can be involved. For colleges, the decision pauses an administratively complex reporting burden while keeping litigation over how federal agencies implement post-Supreme Court admissions requirements in motion.