Forcing the Trump Administration to Release Records on AI Use in the U.S. Department of Education
National Student Legal Defense Network v. the U.S. Department of Education
On June 4, 2026, Student Defense filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for failing to respond to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking records on its use of artificial intelligence (AI) in rulemaking and within the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Ombudsman’s Office.
ED has yet to respond to five distinct FOIA requests submitted by Student Defense earlier in the year. Two requests, submitted in February 2026, sought records concerning ED’s use of AI in the rulemaking process. Three additional requests, submitted in March 2026, sought information about AI systems being used or considered by the FSA Ombudsman’s Office. The original FOIA requests were filed as a part of a widespread investigation into the Trump administration’s use of AI across federal programs serving students and student loan borrowers.
Federal agencies are required by law to respond to a FOIA request within 20 business days. Approximately three months later, ED failed to respond. The lawsuits ask the court to order ED to conduct a reasonable search, stop withholding records, and produce responsive documents.
The press release issued after this case was filed is available here.
Case Documents:
Complaint: seeking records on ED’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) in rulemaking (June 4, 2026)
Complaint: seeking records on ED’s use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the Federal Student Aid (FSA) Ombudsman’s Office (June 4, 2026)
The scope and extent of AI systems and tools employed by the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman’s Office (March 2, 2026)
The policies and procedures governing the use of AI systems by the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman’s Office (March 2, 2026)
The records to gain insight into the implementation of AI tools by the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman’s Office (March 2, 2026)
The use of AI in Title IV rulemaking (February 24, 2026)
The use of AI in Title IV rulemaking ctd. (February 24, 2026)
