Internal admissions documents from Harvard University have become the center of a new legal battle initiated by the Department of Justice. In a lawsuit filed on Friday, February 13, 2026, the federal government accused the university of “slow-walking” the release of records required for a major civil rights compliance review.
The case centers on whether the university has truly moved away from race-conscious admissions following the 2023 Supreme Court ruling. To determine this, the DOJ is seeking five years of individualized applicant data, including grades, test scores, personal essays, and the controversial “personal quality” ratings used by admissions officers. While Harvard maintains that it has complied with all government inquiries in good faith, federal officials argue that the school has withheld the specific data needed to ensure that its process is now strictly merit-based.
This latest lawsuit marks a significant shift in the federal government’s oversight of elite education. It moves the conversation beyond theoretical policy and into the raw data of how decisions are made behind closed doors. For Harvard, the dispute represents a high-stakes defense of its institutional autonomy. For the administration, it is a necessary step to ensure that “merit” remains the primary driver of American higher education.
