President Donald Trump has signed an executive order requiring college campuses to submit more data in an effort to determine if universities are considering race in admissions.
Under the order, colleges will have to report data disaggregated by race and gender for applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. They will also have to submit grade point averages and standardized test scores for applicants and those admitted to college.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2023 issued a ruling that mostly banned considering race in admissions. In California, public colleges were already banned from considering the race of applicants under Proposition 209, a 1996 ballot measure.
The Trump administration, however, has accused campuses of continuing to consider race. Earlier this year, the administration launched an investigation into four California campuses — UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Irvine and Stanford — over alleged “illegal DEI” in admissions.
“We will not allow institutions to blight the dreams of students by presuming that their skin color matters more than their hard work and accomplishments. The Trump Administration will ensure that meritocracy and excellence once again characterize American higher education,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said in a statement Thursday.
This story originally appeared in EdSource.