The University of California Student Association, a union of student governments across the UC campuses, sued the United States Department of Education on Feb. 7, claiming it unlawfully granted the Department of Government Efficiency access to private student financial aid data. The group also filed an emergency injunction to immediately halt DOGE’s access to the data, which was denied on Feb. 17. The lawsuit and its permanent injunction remain ongoing.
Judge Randolph D. Moss of the federal district court for the District of Columbia denied the temporary injunction, citing no immediate threat. While the court ruled against a temporary injunction, the lawsuit, which seeks a permanent injunction against DOGE, will continue to work its way through courts.
The DoE collects the personal information of each person who takes out student loans, including their Social Security numbers, account details, and contact information.
According to UCSA’s lawsuit, DOGE’s access to this data violates the privacy of the 42 million Americans – about 12.5% of the U.S. population – with federal student loans.
UCSA alleges that DOGE’s ability to access this data without public notice is a violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 and Internal Revenue Code, which prohibits third parties from obtaining personal information without consent.
The information collected by the DoE is stored in a system of records called the National Student Loan Data System. As part of this system, every student who receives federal student loans is required to sign the Master Promissory Note for Federal Direct Loans, a legal document that outlines the terms and conditions of student loans. The note states that the DoE will share students’ nonpublic personal information only when necessary for loan processing and servicing in compliance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and to limited organizations and people such as federal agencies.
According to the lawsuit, the DoE’s privacy protections outlined in the note have been compromised, as the department granted individuals connected to DOGE access to its internal systems containing federal student financial aid information. These changes were made without prior warning or public announcement.
Current DoE rules allow federal officials access to this information, but the UCSA suit claims that DOGE officials do not have the public employment status that would authorize their access.
Aditi Hariharan, president of UCSA and a student at UC Davis, explained the group’s concerns about the potential risk posed to students by the DoE giving DOGE access to their data.
“The department’s sharing of our information with DOGE exposes us and our families to an increased risk of identity theft, fraudulent financial activities, further unconsented disclosures to additional third parties, and other misuse of our sensitive personal and financial data,” Hariharan said.
“These privacy violations and security risks make us question whether we should turn over data to the department in the future, which would hinder our ability to pay for college and potentially graduate school. Due to pending litigation, we cannot comment any further.”
In response to UCSA’s claims and requested injunction, the court stated that dissemination of private information is only considered irreparable when information is made public or ends up in the hands of someone with no obligation to keep it confidential.
The lawsuit’s permanent injunction seeks to end further distribution or use of the DoE’s data. It requests that DOGE recover any records that were transferred from the DoE’s systems to individuals affiliated with DOGE that UCSA claims are not authorized to access. It also calls for DOGE to ensure that any copies of private information are destroyed.
DOGE and the DoE have not made a public statement to the media regarding the lawsuit.
