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WASHINGTON (CN) — A student advocacy group sought a court order Friday to prevent Elon Musk and his government efficiency team from accessing confidential data from over 42 million federal student loan borrowers.
The University of California Student Association says the Education Department unlawfully shared financial aid datasets with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, that include students’ names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, contact information, demographic information and bank account information.
“Releasing student loan borrowers’ personal data is an incredible betrayal by our government, and we hope the courts will quickly hold the Department of Education accountable,” University of California Student Association President Aditi Hariharan said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the Washington Post reported that DOGE staffers accessed multiple internal systems within the Department of Education, potentially compromising the personal information of people enrolled in federal student aid programs — about 12.5% of the U.S. population.
Musk’s reportedly unfettered access to federal government operations has ignited widespread condemnation in the first weeks of President Donald Trump’s second term. The administration faces separate lawsuits for granting DOGE access to data from the Treasury and Labor departments.
Representing the student association, Student Defense and the Public Citizen Litigation Group cite violations of the Privacy Act, Internal Revenue Code and Education Department regulations in the complaint. Master promissory notes used to execute federal loans include language that the department will “disclose nonpublic personal information to third parties only as necessary to process and service [the] loan and as permitted by the Privacy Act of 1974.”
Similar sensitive data disclosure agreements are used when borrowers apply for loan repayment programs.
“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 groups write in their complaint. “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.”
The student association is asking for an injunction to protect students’ records and an order ensuring that any future disclosures comply with the Privacy Act.
Hariharan said students agree to take out loans based on the assumption that their personal information will be protected.
“Students across the country did not consent to having our personal information shared with an unelected and non-congressionally approved entity like DOGE, and we absolutely did not give permission for them to access it,” Hariharan said.
Student Defense called the privacy breach enormous and unprecedented. Alex Elson, the group’s vice president, said sensitive data from tens of millions of Americans could be at risk. Elson claimed that the department violated borrowers’ trust by giving their sensitive information to “political operatives with an axe to grind.”
Trump has pledged to abolish the Department of Education, and the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 playbook includes plans to dismantle the department.
Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to the Education Department’s acting Secretary Denise Carter earlier in the week, demanding information on the continuity of department programs and safeguards to protect student data privacy.
“We will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities,” senators Bernie Sanders, Patty Murry and Tammy Baldwin and representatives Robert Scott and Rosa DeLauro wrote in the letter.
Lawmakers requested a response by Friday.
The Department of Education did not respond to questions about the lawsuit or protections for students’ sensitive information.
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