Court Sends ACTS Back to Education Department; Injunction Holds

A federal court has sent the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS) back to the U.S. Department of Education for further explanation, while leaving in place an injunction that pauses reporting deadlines for the institutions, states, and associations involved. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued the order on August 11, 2026.

The court granted the Department's request to remand ACTS so the agency can supplement the reasoning behind its original decision to implement the survey. The Department has until September 11, 2026, to file that fuller explanation. The court specified that the Department may elaborate on its original reasoning but may not offer new reasons for the action.

The preliminary injunction remains in effect during the remand. It bars the Department from enforcing ACTS compliance deadlines against the states, institutions, and associations that are plaintiffs or intervenors in the case. For those institutions, ACTS data-submission deadlines are paused until the process plays out.

The court has previously found that the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on their claim that the implementation of ACTS was arbitrary and capricious. The August 11 order does not decide that underlying claim; it gives the Department a chance to explain the basis for its original action. AIR has tracked the case since the court's temporary restraining order in March and its preliminary injunction in April.