BOSTON (AP) — A coalition of 17 Democratic state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a Trump administration policy that requires higher education institutions to collect data showing they aren’t considering race in admissions.
President Donald Trump ordered the new policy in August after he raised concerns that colleges and universities were using personal statements and other proxies to consider race, which he views as illegal discrimination.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of affirmative action in admissions but said colleges may still consider how race has shaped students’ lives if applicants share that information in their admissions essays.
“This Administration’s unlawful and haphazard actions are threatening the well-being of Massachusetts students and the prosperity of our colleges and universities,” Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement. “There is no way for institutions to reasonably deliver accurate data in the federal government’s rushed and arbitrary time frame, and it is unfair for schools to be threatened with fines, potential losses of funding, and baseless investigations should they not fulfill the Administration’s request.”
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Boston.
Ellen Keast, an Education Department spokesperson, defended the data collection.
“American taxpayers invest over $100 billion into higher education each year and deserve transparency on how their dollars are being spent,” Keast said in a statement. “The Department’s efforts will expand an existing transparency tool to show how universities are taking race into consideration in admissions. What exactly are State AGs trying to shield universities from?”
The new policy is similar to parts of recent settlement agreements the government negotiated with Brown University and Columbia University, restoring their federal research money. The universities agreed to give the government data on the race, grade-point average and standardized test scores of applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. The schools also agreed to be audited by the government and to release admissions statistics to the public.
The memo directs Education Secretary Linda McMahon to require colleges to report more data “to provide adequate transparency into admissions.” The National Center for Education Statistics will collect new data, including the race and sex of colleges’ applicants, admitted students and enrolled students. McMahon said the data, which is due by March 18, must be disaggregated by race and sex and retroactively reported for the past seven years.
If colleges fail to submit timely, complete and accurate data, McMahon can take action under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which outlines requirements for colleges receiving federal financial aid for students, according to the memo.
Campbell argues the survey is rushed and “leaves institutions vulnerable to inadvertent errors and unreliable data that could lead to cost penalties and baseless investigations into their practices and that jeopardizes student privacy and could lead to individuals being easily identified.”
The government uses the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, or IPEDS, to gather information from thousands of colleges and universities that receive federal aid. The coalition also argues that the new data collection demands jeopardize student privacy.
“Many institutions have data protection obligations to their students, which are placed at risk by the Administration’s new IPEDS demands for in-depth information about individual students,” the plaintiffs wrote in the lawsuit.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon is seen after a roundtable discussion on college sports in the East Room of the White House, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo's encore performance: 21 points.
Adebayo — in the game after his 83-point outburst — settled for 62 fewer points Thursday night, when he and the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 112-105 for their seventh consecutive win.
Adebayo's stat line: 6 for 20 from the field, 9 for 13 from the foul line and 0 for 5 from 3-point range in 35 minutes.
And he was exhausted, as would be expected.
“To be able to move onto the next game, get the win and figure it out in a different way ... it wasn’t 83 tonight. It was 21,” Adebayo said, describing the 48 hours between Tuesday's game and Thursday's game as an emotional roller-coaster. “And if anybody’s upset, I don’t care.”
It was nothing like the 20-for-43 shooting from the field, 36-for-43 from the foul line, 7-for-22 from 3-point range effort that he turned in Tuesday in a win over the Washington Wizards for the No. 2 single-game scoring effort — behind only Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point night — in NBA history.
But he came up big when Miami needed it the most, getting 12 of his points in the fourth quarter against the Bucks.
“He has the ultimate mental toughness, and that’s what separates the great competitors in this league," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I’m not talking about the great scorers, just the great winning players. Just lock in on the task at hand, regardless of what’s happened for the first three quarters, whether it’s gone according to plan, whether it has gone smoothly or not.”
Pelle Larsson had a career-high 28 points and Kasparas Jakučionis scored 18 for Miami, and those efforts were needed.
“Man, I'm thankful for my teammates,” Adebayo said. “They stepped up in a big way. ... Tonight it was Pelle and Kas, and sort of me.”
The Heat had a slew of celebrations in Adebayo’s honor, some of which started Wednesday when the team unveiled $83 jerseys, $13 tickets (in honor of his actual jersey number) and even started assembling Adebayo No. 83 jerseys.
“I haven't seen them yet,” Adebayo said.
They exist, and as he walked out of the locker room Thursday night some fans at the other end of a corridor saw him. They starting yelling right away.
Not his name. They were yelling “83.”
“You live in the moment," Adebayo said. “Every time you get a chance to see it, hear it, you grasp it.”
On the concourses Thursday — from the time the doors opened until, of course, 8:30 p.m. — the team was selling 83-cent popcorn, chips or can of soda at some kiosks, and an $8.30 meal deal that included a hot dog, popcorn and fountain drink.
“You feel awesome for Bam," Spoelstra said. "You feel so great for his story, how he’s gotten to this point. And you feel great for his family, his mom, A'ja (Wilson, his four-time WNBA MVP girlfriend), his whole circle. Just quality human beings. They make you want to root for that whole team.”
Adebayo remains the only player in the NBA to have 100 points in a two-game span this season. He's actually done it twice: he had 24 points in the game before the 83-pointer (for a 107-point total) and now has a 104-point, two-game stretch as well.
His showing Tuesday was still the talk of the league on Thursday, and Bucks coach Doc Rivers thinks it's a night that will be talked about for a long time.
“It was just one of those rare nights where a great guy — that’s what Bam is — had a great night and it was all good," Rivers said. "That’s the way I looked at it.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Miami Heat teammates celebrate center Bam Adebayo, right, after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) is congratulated by forward Keshad Johnson (16) after reaching 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots a free throw to reach 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards, Tuesday, March 10, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo warms up before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo warms up before a game against the Milwaukee Bucks Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
