According to a recent article in The Harvard Crimson, legal experts are expressing concerns about potential privacy issues that may arise as a result of the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Harvard University. The suit, which was filed on February 13, alleges that the university is not complying with the 2023 affirmative action ban.
One of the main concerns is that the suit may violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal law that prohibits the disclosure of student records. The DOJ is seeking applicant-level admissions data, including grades, test scores, race, and internal evaluations. However, combining this data could potentially identify individual students, which would be a violation of FERPA.
Vinay Harpalani, a law professor at the University of New Mexico, believes that the Trump Administration may face challenges in obtaining this data. He explains, "If all of the individual data from a single applicant can be linked together, they could be identified. This could raise privacy concerns and potentially violate FERPA."
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is leading the DOJ in this case, has stated that Harvard has refused to release the necessary data for over 10 months. She believes that the suit is important in order to ensure fairness in the admissions process. However, some experts, such as Jonathan D. Glater from the University of California, Berkeley, argue that the DOJ may not have the authority to access student admissions records under FERPA.
Glater also points out that the admissions process is complex and involves discretionary factors beyond just test scores and grades. He questions whether the DOJ is equipped to understand these nuances. "I do not know how nuanced a process the DOJ is prepared to tolerate," he states.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Harvard has stated that the school will continue to defend itself against what they see as retaliatory actions from the government. They believe that the lawsuit is a way for the government to undermine their independence and constitutional rights.
Jonathan P. Feingold, a law professor at Boston University, believes that the DOJ's actions are part of a larger effort to limit the ability of institutions to have fair admissions processes. He argues that the lawsuit has nothing to do with protecting the civil rights of students and is instead an attack on the school's ability to consider a variety of factors in their admissions decisions.
This is not the first time that Harvard has faced legal action from the Trump Administration. In the past, President Trump has demanded that the school pay a $1 billion fine and attempted to freeze federal funding. However, these efforts have been met with resistance and have been ruled unconstitutional.
It is worth noting that this lawsuit is just one of several that have been brought against Harvard by the Trump Administration. As tensions continue to rise, it is important to consider the implications of these actions on the future of the university and its students.
