On April 24, 2025, NCME and co-plaintiffs the National Academy of Education filed a suit challenging the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to reduce its force and undermine the quality and availability of measurement data. On May 2, we filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that would have granted immediate relief. Preliminary injunctions are a high bar to clear, and on June 3, the district court denied our motion. As our case continues and the damage from the Department’s actions spreads, we are reaching out to seek additional information about damage to statutorily required measurement data quality and access and its effects on NCME members.
We understand that there is some sensitivity about communication, as interested members may have genuine questions about the case itself, the legal discoverability of written communications, and the applicability of their experience to the case. To that end, Rich Patz (NCME Executive Director) and Andrew Ho (NCME Immediate Past President) welcome direct emails to them at rich.patz@ncme.org and andrew_ho@harvard.edu, respectively. The request can be as simple as requesting a brief phone or Zoom conversation.
Information most germane to our case as it develops includes:
- Access to federal educational data that may have changed or be changing, e.g., NCES restricted-use data licenses.
- Scheduled data collections or published data reports that are uncertain or changing.
- Agency panels or services that has changed or is changing.
Whether you express your interest in the case through questions, provide specific information, or end up joining the 12 named declarants for our case, we are grateful for your engagement in this important fight for federal measurement data access and quality.
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