Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al v. Department of Education et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
_______________________________________
)
COMMONWEALTH OF 	)
MASSACHUSETTS, et al., 	)
)
Plaintiffs, 	)
) 	Civil Action No.
v. 	) 	26-11229-FDS
)
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, et al., 	)
)
Defendants. 	)
_______________________________________)
ORDER ON MOTIONS OF PROPOSED PLAINTIFF-INTERVENORS CONNECTICUT
CONFERENCE OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES, MAINE INDEPENDENT
COLLEGES ASSOCIATION, NORTH CAROLINA INDEPENDENT COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES, AND OREGON ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES
AND UNIVERSITIES AND PROPOSED PLAINTIFF-INTERVENORS INDEPENDENT
COLLEGE GROUP FOR A TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
SAYLOR, J.
On March 13, 2026, plaintiffs the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and sixteen other
states moved for a temporary restraining order in this case. Defendants are the Department of
Education; Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education; the Office of Management and Budget; and
Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget. The complaint alleges that
defendants’ actions approving and implementing an Admissions and Consumer Transparent
Supplement (“ACTS”) survey are contrary to law. According to the complaint, the relevant
institutions of higher education were required to complete the challenged survey by March 18,
2026.
Later that day, the Court issued a temporary restraining order extending the deadline to
complete the ACTS survey through March 25, 2026, to permit orderly briefing and a hearing on
the motion. On March 19, 2026, the Association of American Universities and various other
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national higher-education associations moved to file a brief as amici curiae, which the Court
granted. The Court then held a hearing on March 24, 2026, and issued a brief further temporary
restraining order extending the time period to April 6, 2026, for the 17 named plaintiffs and their
constituent institutions.
The next day, on March 25, 2026, the Association of American Universities filed a
motion to intervene and a motion for a temporary restraining order. On March 30, 2026, the
Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts also filed a motion to
intervene and a motion for a temporary restraining order. On March 31, 2026, the Court issued a
temporary restraining order extending the deadline for the proposed plaintiff-intervenors to April
14, 2026, and scheduled a hearing on those motions for April 13, 2026.
On April 3, 2026, the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Maine
Independent Colleges Association, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, and
Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities filed a motion to intervene and a
motion for a temporary restraining order. They contend that some of their members submitted
three years of data and therefore received a short extension to April 8, 2026, to complete the
ACTS survey. They challenge the ACTS survey on grounds similar to those raised by plaintiffs.
Later that day, the Court preliminarily enjoined defendants from enforcing any deadline
for compliance with the ACTS survey against the 17 current plaintiffs pending further order of
the Court or trial on the merits.
On April 6, 2026, Barnard College, Bryn Mawr College, Middlebury College, Sarah
Lawrence College, Swarthmore College, and Vassar College (collectively, “Independent College
Group”) filed a motion to intervene and a motion for a temporary restraining order. Except for
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Middlebury, those colleges have submitted a preliminary set of data and obtained an extension to
April 8, 2026, to complete the ACTS survey. Middlebury has already submitted its responses.
For good cause shown, and in order to provide defendants an opportunity to respond to
the motions to intervene and permit orderly resolution of the issues, the Court hereby (1)
provisionally grants the motions to intervene of Connecticut Conference of Independent
Colleges, Maine Independent Colleges Association, North Carolina Independent Colleges and
Universities, Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the Independent
College Group for the limited purpose of considering the proposed plaintiff-intervenors’ motions
for a temporary restraining order; and (2) issues a temporary restraining order (a) extending the
deadline to complete the ACTS survey for those proposed plaintiff-intervenors and their
constituent institutions of higher education through April 14, 2026, and (b) restraining
defendants from enforcing the deadlines of March 18, 2026, March 31, 2026, or April 8, 2026,
against those institutions. The issuance of this order is neither a grant of a motion to intervene
for all purposes nor a grant of preliminary injunctive relief, both of which will be subject to
future briefing and a hearing.
Defendants shall respond to the motions to intervene and for a temporary restraining
order by Thursday, April 9, 2026. A hearing on the motions will be combined with the hearing
for proposed plaintiff-intervenors Association of American Universities and Association of
Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts currently scheduled for April 13, 2026,
at 10:00 a.m.
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So Ordered.
/s/ F. Dennis Saylor IV
F. Dennis Saylor IV
Dated at Boston, Massachusetts 	United States District Court Judge
April 7, 2026, 4:50 p.m.
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