Students for Fair Admissions Applauds Executive Order Requiring Colleges to Disclose Race-Based Admissions Data

SFFA urges Congress to codify these transparency requirements into permanent legislation

(Arlington, VA) Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) issued the following statement enthusiastically supporting today’s executive order signed by President Trump requiring all colleges and universities receiving federal funding to publicly disclose detailed admissions data, including the role of race and ethnicity in admissions decisions.

Edward Blum, president of SFFA said, “For too long, American colleges and universities have hidden behind opaque admissions practices that often rely on racial preferences to shape their incoming classes. This executive order is a landmark step toward the transparency and accountability that students, parents, and taxpayers deserve.”

Under the new order, institutions of higher education must report annually to the Department of Education the role that race and ethnicity play in the admissions process, along with data such as standardized test scores, grade point averages, class rank, and any other admissions criteria deemed relevant. The information will be made available to the public in a searchable online database.

Blum added, “This is a critical victory for the principle of equal treatment under the law. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and when colleges are required to disclose how they weigh different factors in admissions, the American people will finally be able to assess whether those practices are fair, legal, and constitutional.”

The executive order follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which held that the use of race in college admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Despite that ruling, many colleges continue to use vague or indirect methods to achieve racial balancing.

Blum concluded, “This executive order sends a clear message: taxpayer-funded institutions must follow the law. SFFA will monitor compliance with the executive order and urges Congress to codify these transparency requirements into permanent legislation.