Court declines to block DOGE from accessing Education Department data

Higher Ed Dive

Natalie Schwartz

February 18, 2024

Dive Brief: 

• A federal judge declined Monday to block staffers from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive data at the U.S. Department of Education.

• The University of California Student Association requested a temporary restraining order, arguing in its lawsuit that DOGE staffers’ access to student data represented an “enormous and unprecedented” privacy intrusion.

• However, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss ruled that the student group failed to show it would likely face “irreparable harm” without emergency relief. Moss did not rule on whether the group has standing to sue or whether it has stated claims that could warrant relief in the future.

Dive Insight: 

The University of California Student Association sued the Education Department in early February, arguing that the agency was violating federal privacy laws and regulations by allowing DOGE to access sensitive student data.

The lawsuit came after The Washington Post reported that DOGE staffers had accessed several of the department’s systems, including federal financial aid data.

In court documents, DOGE staffer Adam Ramada confirmed that a handful of federal employees were combing through the Education Department’s contracts, grants and programs — including the federal student loan portfolio — to root out “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

That includes two workers directly employed by the Education Department and four “on detail” from other government agencies, according to court documents filed last week.

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