Attorneys general challenge federal DEI oversight

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(The Center Square) – California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 17 other Democratic attorneys general are urging the U.S. Department of Education to withdraw a proposed expansion of federal data collection on college admissions, arguing it would violate student privacy and distort civil rights law.

The coalition letter, sent Monday, urges the Education Department to withdraw its proposal, which would require colleges and universities to report detailed data to the federal government. 

During a virtual news conference on Tuesday, Bonta criticized the proposed federal expansion of college admissions data collection, calling it an unjustified intrusion into privacy and a misrepresentation of civil rights law.

"We think their position is inappropriate and unjustifiable, so we'll take one step at a time. I think our letter makes our position really clear," Bonta said, answering questions from The Center Square.

"We think it’s an unnecessary intrusion into the privacy of Californians and is not an appropriate request," Bonta added.

In August, President Trump directed the Department of Education to expand the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System as part of greater efforts for the administration to expand its investigations into DEI policies. 

The expansion would require institutions to report detailed admissions, financial aid and student data, including test scores, grade point averages, income, Pell Grant eligibility and graduation outcomes. 

Bonta accused federal officials of distorting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

“Black is white, up is down when they look at DEI," Bonta said. "They think programs that address historical discrimination and personal discrimination are the harassment."

He said even foundational civil rights protections are being wrongly characterized as DEI violations, citing the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments, as well as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

"They're not enforcing civil rights," Bonta continued. "What they think is civil rights is actually undermining people's civil rights.”

The U.S. Department of Education did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square.  

The coalition includes attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.