COLLECTING AND REPORTING RACE AND …

1 No. FY 2009-02 August 2009 Education Information and Accountability Services Florida Department of Education Contact InformationTeresa Sancho (Staff) Linda Hewett (Student) (850) 245-0400 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER COLLECTING AND REPORTING RACE AND ETHNICITY DATA For PK-12 Students and Staff Purpose and Contents The purposes of this technical assistance paper are to provide: the historical background for ethnicity and race REPORTING , a summary of changes in ethnicity and race coding, current and new elements to be reported and the timeline for REPORTING , sample forms and letters that may be used to notify staff and parents and collect accurate data for staff and students, and answers to frequently asked questions regarding collection and REPORTING of race and ethnicity.

2 This technical assistance document contains the following sections: Section Page Purpose and Contents 1 Introduction 2 Background and History 3 Florida s Data Elements 5 Definitions 7 REPORTING Timeline 11 COLLECTING Race and Ethnicity Data Using the New Standards 12 Appendix A: Data Elements 15 Appendix B: Sample Letters/Forms 24 Appendix C: Additional Questions for Parents/Staff 28 1 2 Introduction For more than 20 years, standards in the U.

3 S. Office of Management and Budget s (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 have provided a common language to promote uniformity and comparability for data on race and ethnicity for the population groups specified in the Directive. They were developed in cooperation with federal agencies to provide consistent data on race and ethnicity throughout the federal government. The development of data standards stemmed in large measure from new responsibilities to enforce civil rights laws. Data were needed to monitor equal access for populations that historically had experienced discrimination and differential treatment because of their race or ethnicity.

4 The standards of Directive No. 15 have come under increasing criticism because the minimum categories do not reflect the increasing diversity of our nation s population that has resulted primarily from growth in immigration and in interracial marriages. Because of this criticism, a comprehensive review was undertaken by the U. S. government. The result of this review is the adoption of standards for COLLECTING and maintaining ethnicity and race data that will allow individuals to more accurately report their origins. The revision of these federal standards requires changes to the collection and REPORTING of data in Florida. Changes in data collection have resulted in new elements being created to provide the data required by the OMB.

5 To facilitate the REPORTING of accurate data, districts should begin to re-identify the race and ethnicity of all students and staff during the 2008-09 school year. Re-identification will provide the opportunity for students and staff to select more than one race and to report both their ethnicity and their race separately. If all individuals are not provided the opportunity to identify their race and ethnicity in a manner that is consistent, the data will not accurately reflect the diversity of the population. All changes must be implemented by fall 2009 REPORTING (school year 2009-10). This Technical Assistance Paper will assist districts in the process of meeting the new REPORTING requirements.

6 Districts will need to develop local policies and procedures for the re-identification of staff and students and prepare for local data system changes needed for the implementation of data REPORTING . 3 Background and History In 1977, the U. S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued standards for the collection and REPORTING of data on race and ethnicity in Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative REPORTING . The standards in this Directive have been used for two decades throughout the federal government for recordkeeping, collection, and presentation of data on race and Hispanic origin.

7 In 1996, OMB conducted content and targeted tests in preparation for the 2000 Census. In the spring of 1997 OMB published a notice on research results and proposed decisions on changes to Directive No. 15. On October 30, 1997, OMB published the 1997 Standards for Maintaining, COLLECTING , and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (1997 Standards). On August 7, 2006, OMB published a Federal Register notice proposing changes to the Department of Education s (USDE) data collection and REPORTING guidelines for race and ethnicity data that were consistent with the 1997 Standards. See On October 19, 2007, OMB published a Federal Register notice of final changes to the USDE s racial and ethnic data collection and REPORTING guidelines.

8 See States are required to report aggregated data using these new standards beginning with school year 2010-11. Questions and Answers Is it legal for the department to collect race/ethnicity data?This data collection is authorized by the USDE under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Department of Education Organization Act (20 3413). Title VI regulations may be found at 34 CFR (b); Title IX regulations at 34 CFR ; and Section 504 regulations at 34 CFR For what purposes will the department use the race data collected?The department uses data on the racial/ethnic categories of students and staff in aggregate reports.

9 In addition to meeting the requirements of Florida law, COLLECTING the data will assist in complying with USDE and other federal agency requirements. The department anticipates using the staff data to analyze the impact of policy decisions on issues such as the diversity of the Florida educator workforce. The department also plans to use the aggregated data to help schools and districts to recruit, hire, and support a diverse educator workforce. Staff race and ethnicity data is submitted by the department to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of school districts. Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) requirements, the department must disaggregate student accountability data by race and ethnicity categories during the process of determining Adequate 4 Yearly Progress (AYP).

10 Each year, the department is required to submit a wide range of education data to the USDE as part of the EDFacts data initiative via the Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN). The department also submits data regarding student race and ethnicity to the Office for Civil Rights. How will data be aggregated for REPORTING to the USDE?For federal REPORTING requirements aggregate data will be reported using one of seven aggregate REPORTING categories. These categories are: Hispanic/Latino of any race Non-Hispanic individuals American Indian or Alaska Native Asian Black or African American Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander White Two or more races Data is often compared from year to year.