The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) will be kept out of the Department of Education’s systems until Feb. 17, in an agreement reached in a lawsuit brought by the University of California student government.
In a filing Tuesday, the student government and Education Department came to an agreement to keep all DOGE personnel out of the databases in order to obtain an extended briefing and hearing schedule.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, an Obama-era appointee, will have to approve the agreement between the two sides.
The students, represented by Public Citizen, a left-leaning consumer advocacy group, sued the federal agency on Friday, arguing that allowing DOGE employees into the department’s database would violate federal privacy law and the Internal Revenue Code.
The Department of Education has sensitive information on millions of Americans and students.
“Defendants’ action granting DOGE-affiliated individuals continuous and ongoing access to that information for an unspecified period of time means that millions of Americans from all walks of life have no assurance that their sensitive information — and that of their parents and/or spouses — will receive the protection that federal law affords,” the lawsuit states.
“And because Defendants’ actions and decisions are shrouded in secrecy, individuals do not have even basic information about what personal or financial information Defendants are sharing with outside parties or how their information is being used,” it continues.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Education for comment.
The first target since DOGE gained access seems to be the Institute of Education Sciences, which has canceled 169 government contracts. DOGE also posted on X that the Department of Education canceled “89 contracts worth $881mm” and “29 DEI training grants totaling $101mm.”
Similar deals to keep some DOGE employees out of agencies for a limited time have occurred in other lawsuits against federal departments such as the Treasury Department.
