DOJ Sues Harvard Over Admissions Data
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Harvard University, demanding access to admissions data for an investigation into race in admissions. While the case focuses on admissions, it signals the DOJ's assertive litigation posture towards universities ahead of the April 2026 Title II accessibility deadline. Harvard has publicly denied claims of non-compliance and stated it is cooperating with the investigation.
- The current investigation follows the Supreme Court's June 29, 2023, ruling in *Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard*, which held that race-conscious admissions programs violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That case originated from a 2014 lawsuit alleging Harvard's policies discriminated against Asian American applicants. - The DOJ's compliance review began in April 2025 and seeks five academic years of detailed applicant data, including test scores, GPAs, essays, and admission outcomes, broken down by race and ethnicity. - Harvard's resistance to providing unredacted student records centers on potential violations of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which protects the privacy of student education records. Legal experts suggest that even with names removed, the combination of specific data points could make individual applicants identifiable. - The lawsuit is part of a broader, ongoing conflict between the university and the current administration, which has previously involved federal funding cuts and attempts to bar the enrollment of foreign students. - The separate April 24, 2026, deadline refers to new rules for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These rules mandate that public colleges and universities ensure their websites, mobile apps, and digital course materials meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard. - Federal enforcement of digital accessibility has been increasing. In May 2023, the DOJ and the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a joint letter to universities highlighting recent enforcement actions, including a December 2022 consent decree with the University of California, Berkeley, over the accessibility of its public online content.
