DOJ lawsuit pressures Harvard to hand over detailed applicant information: Privacy law at the center of dispute
Publish Date: 2026-02-16 06:30:00
Source Domain: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Harvard confronts new court challenge over disclosure of admissions records The Trump administration’s Friday lawsuit seeking admissions records from Harvard University may run up against the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that restricts disclosure of student records that could identify individual applicants, according to legal experts interviewed by The Harvard Crimson.The Department of Justice (DOJ) has demanded applicant-level admissions data, including grades, standardized test scores, race, ethnicity, and internal evaluations. Scholars told The Harvard Crimson that even if names are removed, combining such data points could make individual applicants identifiable, potentially violating FERPA protections.Vinay Harpalani, a professor of law at the University of New Mexico, told The Harvard Crimson he would “be surprised” if the administration succeeds, citing confidentiality concerns. He said linking grades, scores, race, and other characteristics could allow individuals to be identified, raising serious privacy risks under FERPA.
DOJ review follows Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling
According to The Harvard Crimson, the DOJ launched a review in April 2025 seeking admissions data from Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Medical School. The lawsuit, filed Friday morning, asks a federal court to compel Harvard to turn over documents related to applicant-level admissions decisions.The department says the records are needed to assess whether Harvard continues discriminatory practices after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ended race-conscious admissions policies nationwide.Jonathan D. Glater, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told The Harvard Crimson that FERPA protects personally identifiable student information and questioned whether the DOJ has authority to access such data outside a criminal investigation. He also noted…
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