Authors: Drishti Pillai and Samantha Artiga

Publication Year: April 30, 2024

Keywords: Misclassification of AI/AN, Data, Census

Abstract:
On March 29, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced revisions to Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, which apply to federal data collection and reporting. The revisions include using a single combined question for race and ethnicity, adding Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) as a minimum category, clarifying instructions for individuals to select multiple racial and ethnic categories that represent their identity, and requiring collection of more detail beyond the minimum categories. In addition, the Standards require that data tabulation procedures result in the production of as much information on race and/or ethnicity as possible, including data for people reporting multiple racial and/or ethnic categories.

The updated standards are effective for all new federal racial and ethnic data collection and reporting as of March 28, 2024, and existing racial and ethnic data must be updated as soon as possible but no later than March 28, 2029. OMB indicates that these revisions are intended to result in more accurate and useful race and ethnicity data across the federal government and are the first revisions that have been made since the last directive was issued in 1997. This brief provides an overview of these changes and their implications.

Source: Link to Original Article.

Type of Resource: Policy Brief