Last week, the University of California Student Association made national headlines after filing a lawsuit against the Department of Education over allegedly sharing confidential student data with President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.
UCSA filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education for giving DOGE access to sensitive student data. Nexus file photo
The University of California Student Association (UCSA), represented by the Student Defense and Public Citizen Litigation Group, filed a lawsuit on Feb. 4. The UCSA is a student-led organization that represents more than 240,000 students across the nine UC campuses, advocating for the students’ collective interests.
On Feb. 7, they filed a complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, asking the Department of Education (DOE) to put an immediate stop to alleged violations of federal law and clarify the legal rights of the parties involved.
Staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by billionaire tech mogul and Trump-appointee Elon Musk, reportedly gained access to multiple internal systems with the DOE including the personal information of millions of students enrolled in federal aid programs, according to the Washington Post.
The information stored by the DOE accounts for more than 42 million Americans getting federal loans, approximately 12.5% of the U.S. population. The DOE gave Musk’s DOGE access to this information without making any formal announcement, the lawsuit claims.
“Students apply for financial aid trusting that the deeply confidential information we hand over — like our social security numbers and bank account information — will be kept private,” UCSA President Aditi Hariharan, a fourth-year at UC Davis, said to the Nexus in an email statement. “Giving political operatives access to all this data without reason or our consent would break the law, betray our trust and violate our privacy.”
The data stored in the DOE accounts includes Social Security numbers, date of birth, student loan account information, contact information and driver’s license numbers, according to the lawsuit. The DOE also captures and retains demographic information such as veteran, marital and citizenship status as well as information on borrowers’ assets and income.
According to the complaint, the defendants violated the 1974 Privacy Act, Internal Revenue Code and Department regulations by allowing DOGE-affiliated individuals to access the department’s data and the computer systems that house federal student financial aid information.
Students also voiced complaints that the data would reveal if they have undocumented family members. The concern stems from how DOGE works with multiple federal agencies at once, the suit said.
“The risk has already had a concrete chilling effect, discouraging students and their families from applying for aid — or attending college at all,” the plaintiffs say in the court filing.
As many as 12,000 students from mixed-status or undocumented families may be enrolled at the UC, according to the lawsuit.
“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 [of Education] in the future, which would hinder our ability to pay for college and potentially graduate school,” she continued.
In December, the Santa Barbara Superior Court blocked a search warrant from the campus UC Police Department to gain access to user data from Instagram’s parent company Meta for pro-Palestine accounts connected to last spring’s encampment. The accounts @SayGenocideUCSB and @UCSBLiberatedZone would have had to hand over data of thousands of people who interacted with or viewed their posts.
Last week, UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang issued a statement generally addressing concerns over local, national and international debates over the next year under the Trump administration.
“As an academic institution, we are committed to open inquiry, rigorous debate, and academic freedom,” Yang said in a campus-wide email. “There are many ways for students, faculty, and staff to exercise their rights and advocate for their views as a part of our campus community, including campus forums, meetings and activities of student, faculty, and staff organizations and governing bodies, and peaceful demonstrations.”
Neither Yang nor the UC Office of the President have commented on the lawsuit or DOGE’s alleged procurement of sensitive student information.
“We urge the Court to act quickly to prevent the Department from illegally disclosing our personal, confidential information with DOGE or anyone else. We also want a full accounting of what has already been shared,” Hariharan said.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Feb. 13, 2025 edition of the Daily Nexus.
Calm down, no one’s personal data is being stolen by Elon Musk. The real fear being generated here is delusional fear because democrats don’t want their money laundering operation stopped.
You got that exactly correct Jamalakbu. An audit is overdue. This suit is a waste of everyone’s time and money.