FACTS AT A GLANCE:
NEW FEDERAL RACE AND ETHNICITY
DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
What this covers:
- Two-part question beginning in the 2009-2010 school year
- No data collection or reporting option for “Unknown” or “Decline to State”
- Re-identification not required
- Federal reports aggregate data into seven categories
- Original documents should be retained at least three years
- How to take action
- Additional resources
- Sample question format
DATA COLLECTION
Beginning in 2009-2010, a two-part question will be required to collect race and ethnicity data on students and staff.
The two-part question separates ethnicity and race. It includes two categories for ethnicity and five for race, and respondents are allowed to choose more than one race. Hispanic/Latino is considered an ethnicity, not a race. The CDE recommends that the following wording be included on data collection forms, “Multiracial students/staff may select two or more races.” The individual data collection format of the two-part federal question is as follows, with the ethnicity part asked first:
Ethnicity (Select one):
- Hispanic or Latino
- Not Hispanic or Latino
Race (Select one or more, regardless of Ethnicity):
- American Indian or Alaskan Native
- Asian
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- Black or African American
- White
Schools and districts will be required to begin collecting data using this format beginning in the 2009-2010 school year. In addition to the federal minimum individual categories, California Government Code Section 8310.5 requires state agencies to collect data for each major Asian and Pacific Islander group, including, but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, and Tahitian.
There will be no category for “Unknown” or “Decline to State” in reports.
Once the new data collection format is implemented, aggregated reports from the detailed data will no longer include a category for “Unknown” or “Decline to State.” It is therefore essential that every effort be made to encourage respondents to identify themselves according to the new
categories and to follow up if information is missing on data collection forms. If all attempts to encourage a respondent to self-identify are unsuccessful, then CDE will report such respondents in the category of “Two or More Races” unless the respondent has already answered “yes” to the first question regarding Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.
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Re-identifying current students and staff is not required.
The federal guidelines do not require that current students and staff be re-identified based on the new format. The guidelines “encourage” re-identification, however, and respondents should be given the opportunity to re-identify. Race and ethnicity data must be collected according to the new format for any new students or staff.
FEDERAL DATA REPORTING
Federal reports will require that detailed individual data be aggregated into seven categories.
Each respondent will be associated with exactly one of the following seven categories:
- Hispanic or Latino of any race
- American Indian or Alaskan Native
- Asian
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- Black or African American
- White
- Two or more races
Original records should be retained for at least three years.
Original data collection documents should be retained for at least three years. If there is litigation, an audit, or other action that involves the records, the original records should be retained until the action is resolved.
TAKE LOCAL ACTION
The following steps should be taken locally to ensure that the federal requirements are implemented on time, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year:
- Confirm that your student and human resources information systems can capture the data according to the new scheme.
- Make sure student enrollment forms and staff personnel documents include the two-part question.
- Review your existing databases for missing race and ethnicity information.
- Train your staff on the new two-part question.
- Be prepared to make the change beginning in 2009.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The following are sources of additional information on the federal race and ethnicity data collection and reporting requirements:
- New Race and Ethnicity Guidance for the Collection of Federal Education Data (Outside Source)
- Forum Guide to implementing new Federal Race and Ethnicity Categories (PDF; Outside Source)
SAMPLE QUESTION FORMATS
The following samples show how the two-part question might look on a school registration or staff information form in California:
Sample 1
Ethnicity
Is this student/staff member Hispanic or Latino? (Select only one)
- No, not Hispanic or Latino
- Yes, Hispanic or Latino
The above part of the question is about ethnicity, not race. No matter what you selected above, please continue to answer the following by marking one or more boxes to indicate what you consider your race to be.
Race
What is the race of this student/staff member? (Multiracial students/staff may select two or more races.)
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian Indian
- Black or African American
- Cambodian
- Chinese
- Filipino
- Guamanian
- Hawaiian
- Hmong
- Japanese
- Korean
- Laotian
- Other Asian
- Other Pacific Islander
- Samoan
- Tahitian
- Vietnamese
- White
Sample 2
Part A.
Is this student/staff member Hispanic or Latino? (Select only one)
- No, not Hispanic or Latino
- Yes, Hispanic or Latino
The above part of the question is about ethnicity, not race. No matter what you selected above, please continue to answer the following by marking one or more boxes to indicate what you consider the student’s/staff member’s race to be.
Part B.
What is this student’s/staff member’s race? (Multiracial students/staff may select two or more races.)
- American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian - Chinese
- Japanese
- Korean
- Vietnamese
- Asian Indian
- Laotian
- Cambodian
- Filipino
- Hmong
- Other Asian
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - Hawaiian
- Guamanian
- Samoan
- Tahitian
- Other Pacific Islander
- Black or African American
- White
Sample 3
1. a.
Is student/staff member Hispanic or Latino?
- Yes, Hispanic or Latino
Please continue to answer the following by marking one or more boxes to indicate student’s/staff member’s race.
1. b.
Student/staff member race (Multiracial students/staff may select two or more races.):
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian Indian
- Black or African American
- Cambodian
- Chinese
- Filipino
- Guamanian
- Hawaiian
- Hmong
- Japanese
- Korean
- Laotian
- Other Asian
- Other Pacific Islander
- Samoan
- Tahitian
- Vietnamese
- White
