Collecting and Reporting Race &
Ethnicity Data for Students and Staff
in Colorado’s Public Schools
An overview of planned changes to be
implemented in the 2010-2011
academic year
Colorado Department of Education
1
From 1977 to present, students and staff in Colorado
have been reported in one of five “race/ ethnicity”
categories
Race/Ethnicity: The general racial/ethnic heritage category which most clearly
reflects the individual’s recognition of his or her community or with which the
individual most closely identifies.
NOTE: Under the current reporting system, each reported individual must be
assigned to a single category.
01 - American Indian or Alaskan Native
02 - Asian or Pacific Islander
03 - Black (not Hispanic)
04 - Hispanic
05 - White (not Hispanic)
2
By federal mandate, beginning in 2010-2011, race and
ethnicity data will be collected using a new two-part question
format, which will allow the selection of more than one race
Please Note: You must answer both parts of the question below
Part A:
Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic/Latino origin?
Yes
No
Part B:
Which of the following groups describe your race?
(you may select more than one)
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian
Black or African American
White
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
3
The federal government has developed definitions
for these six ethnic and racial categories
Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or
Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. The
term “Spanish origin” can be used in addition to “Hispanic/Latino or Latino.”
American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the
original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and
who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East,
Southeast Asia, or the Indian Subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia,
China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands,
Thailand, and Vietnam.
Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the Black
racial groups of Africa.
White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the
Middle East, or North Africa.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any
of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
4
For CDE data collections, districts will report the race and ethnicity
information collected from each respondent and the racial or
ethnic category to be used in state and federal reporting
Districts will provide race and ethnicity information
in the format in which it was collected…
Race/Ethnicity information as collected by the
district from the student or the student’s family
Ethnicity
Field
Hispanic
or Latino
Race
Field 1
American
Indian or
Alaska
Native
Race
Field 2
Asian
Race
Field 3
Black or
African
American
Race
Field 5
White
Race
Field 6
Native
Hawaiian/
Other Pac.
Islander
04
01
02
03
05
06
00 - No
00 - No
00 - No
00 - No
00 - No
00 - No
… and as it will be reported
Race/Ethnicity categories
to be used in Federal and
State Reporting
Federally Reported Race/Ethnic
Category Field
01
American Indian or Alaska
Native
02
Asian
03
Black or African American
04
Hispanic or Latino
05
White
06
Native Hawaiian or other
Pacific Islander
07
Two or more races
5
A series of data validation rules will ensure the information collected
from students and staff matches the appropriate aggregated
category for state and federal reporting
Race and Ethnicity Information Collected from
Students and Staff
Hispanic
American
Indian
Asian
Black
White
Reported Racial/Ethnic
Category
Hawaiian/
Pac. Island
Any single race or combination of races
Hispanic
American Indian
or Alaska Native
Asian
Black
White
Native Hawaiian/
Pacific Islander
Any combination of races – but not of
Hispanic Ethnicity
Two or More Races
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Why are the reporting categories for race and ethnicity
being changed?
The new reporting categories will:
• Allow individuals to more accurately identify themselves given the
increasing diversity of the nation’s population
• Provide the option for respondents to select multiple race categories
to describe their racial background
• Help address the previous underreporting of Hispanic ethnicity
under the old reporting scheme as identified by the Bureau of the
Census
• Match the new “two part question format” already adopted by other
industries and federal agencies including the Bureau of the Census,
health agencies, and the Federal Equal Employment Opportunities
Commission
7
“Race” and “ethnicity” defined
“Ethnicity” refers to the identification of a group based on a
perceived cultural distinctiveness that makes the group into a
“people.” This distinctiveness is believed to be expressed in
language, music, values, art, styles, literature, family life, religion,
ritual, food, naming, public life, and material culture. *
“Race” is today primarily a sociological designation, identifying a
class sharing some outward physical characteristics and some
commonalities of culture and history. *
One of the major reasons for the change in collection and reporting is
the recognition that members of Hispanic populations can be of
different races. The new reporting scheme will afford Hispanic/Latino
populations the opportunity to better describe themselves according
to their culture and heritage.
* Source: Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Referenced 4/20/09.
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How will this race/ethnicity information be used?
• Federal education reports districts and states submit to receive funds such as
those provided through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
• Required accountability reports collected through the EDFacts data collection
system (graduation and dropout data, pupil membership counts, HR/Staff
data, assessment/testing information, etc).
• Used by the Office for Civil Rights to assist with enforcement of laws
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race and national origin
• The Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) requires collection of
race and ethnicity data on students with disabilities
• Data used to account for progress in meeting the goals of the No Child Left
Behind (NCLB) Act include information about students’ race and ethnicity
• District-level evaluation of placement and program needs
NOTE
Although these categories are required by the federal government, only
aggregated racial and ethnic data are reported (in a way that does not
permit the identification of individual students). Race and ethnicity data
are not considered “directory information” under FERPA.
9
Will schools and districts be required to ask every student
and staff member to re-identify?
• The U.S. Department of Education encourages, but does not require,
schools and districts to allow all students and staff the opportunity to reidentify their race and ethnicity under the new standards.
• Advantages of asking all respondents to re-identify:
 Final Guidance from the USDE requires the new information to be
available at the local level for civil rights compliance (including the
race selection of respondents selecting Hispanic/Latino ethnicity)
 Re-inventorying only some students could create a perception that
schools are singling out one racial group.
 Provides the opportunity for individuals who want to self-identify with
multiple races the opportunity to do so.
 Promotes data consistency and comparability within schools, districts,
and states.
10
What if a student/parent or staff member refuses to selfidentify?
•
Students and parents who are reluctant to self-identify should be
informed:
 This information will only be publicly reported in an aggregated
format that is not personally identifiable.
 The district/school is required by law to provide this information
and that refusal to self-identify will result in “observer
identification” on their behalf.
•
School district policy should indicate the steps to be taken before an
observer makes a selection. These might include:
 Reviewing the enrollment form with the parent at registration
 Sending a second letter or making a follow-up phone call
 Offering a meeting with a staff member or contractor who speaks
the parent’s/student’s native language.
11
What if a student/parent or staff member refuses to selfidentify (continued)?
•
Districts may not use a default category to assign all non-reported students. (e.g.
all students with no ethnic or racial designation cannot be reported as “White” or
“Two or More Races”). These determinations are to be made case-by-case.
•
District/school staff may not direct or instruct an individual in responding to the
two part question on race and ethnicity beyond clarifying the question. This
process is intended to collect self-identified responses about an individual’s racial
and ethnic identity.
•
If available, the district may use the Race/Ethnicity designation reported for the
student in a previous CDE reporting period.
•
If the student does not have a previous record indicating race and ethnicity, the
district is required to use observer identification to establish the student’s current
ethnic and racial designations. This determination can be informed by:
 first-hand knowledge about the student and his or her family by school staff
 the student’s/parent’s country of birth or country of origin
 the student’s home language or parent’s language of preference
 knowledge about the community to which the school belongs.
12
CDE anticipates that the vast majority of students reported in
grades 2 through 12 in 2010-2011 will have race/ethnicity
information available from a prior year collection
Total Estimated Statewide 2nd through 12th grade
Membership in 2010-2011
8%
10-11 Race/Ethnic category is…
5%
Same as prior year
Different from prior year
Not reported in a prior year
87%
13
Projections based on prior implementation by the U.S. Census in
Colorado suggest a relatively small percentage of students in
Colorado will be reclassified under the new coding system
2009 - 2010
2010 – 2011 (projected)
4%
0% Two or more races
2%
3% Asian
6%
62%
White
1%
Asian
5%
Black
Am. Indian/
Alaskan
Two or more races
57%
Black
1% Am. Indian/
Alaskan
White
28% Hispanic
31% Hispanic
0%
1%
Hawaiian/
Pac.
Islander
Hawaiian/
Pac.
Islander
14
Logistical considerations for district staff
1.
How and when will the new race and ethnicity information be
collected?

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2.
What changes will be required to existing forms and documentation?
How much advance notice will be required to reprint documents,
make changes to web pages, etc.?



3.
During registration/enrollment?
Questionnaire sent to parents?
Will students/parents and staff be notified of their previous race/ethnic
status when being asked to re-identify under the new system?
Enrollment forms
Employment applications
Employee surveys
How will parents, students, and staff be notified of these changes?




Mailings?
Letters sent home with students?
Memoranda or email to staff?
Meetings and presentations?
15
Logistical considerations for district staff (continued)
4. How will front office staff and others likely to receive questions
pertaining to race/ethnicity reporting be trained?
5. Which individual(s) within the school or district will be responsible for
observing the race and ethnicity of a student or staff member if the
respondent refuses to self-identify?
6. Does the district wish to record whether observer identification was
employed by setting a flag in the student’s or staff member’s data
file?
7. Have software vendors that provide systems for collecting,
managing, and reporting data been made aware of these changes?


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New reporting fields
New coding options
New edit checks
16
Policy considerations for district administrators and local
school boards
1.
What should be the timeline for implementing the new race and
ethnicity collection and reporting categories?
2.
Will this process be coordinated at the district level or the school
level?
3.
What information should be included in a letter to parents? Who
should sign/originate this letter?
4.
Will high school students be allowed to self-identify, or must
parents provide the race and ethnicity determination in all cases?
5.
What procedures will be implemented to encourage selfidentification?
6.
Is it feasible to provide language services to assist parents who do
not speak English as their primary language?
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Policy considerations for district administrators and local
school boards (continued)
7.
What steps will be taken before an observer makes a selection on
behalf of a student or staff member?
•
What will be the district’s official policy regarding follow-up procedures for
missing data?
8.
How will parents be alerted that an observer has identified/will identify
a student’s race and ethnicity if the information is not provided?
9.
What specific policies and procedures should inform the process for
observing a student’s race and ethnicity if parents refuse to provide
the information?
•
Which individual(s) within the school or district will be responsible for
observing the race and ethnicity of a student or staff member if the
respondent refuses to self-identify?
10. In what manner, and for how long, will race and ethnicity information
be stored at the district?
•
USDE guidance requires educational institutions to store the original two
part question format responses for three years.
18
Organizations providing feedback on the new
race/ethnicity categories:
School Districts and BOCES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Adams 12
Adams 14
Adams 50 - Westminster
Aurora Public Schools
Centennial BOCES
Cherry Creek School District
Colorado Springs 11
Denver Public Schools
East Central BOCES
Greeley School District
Harrison 2
Jefferson County Schools
Johnstown-Milliken RE-5J
Keenesburg RE-3J
Littleton Public Schools
Mountain BOCES
Summit County School District
Groups and Organizations
•
•
•
•
Charter Schools
City of Denver
Colorado Parent Coalition
LARASA of Colorado (Latin American
Research and Service Agency)
• Metro Community Provider Network
• Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning
• University of Colorado
Units within the CDE
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communications Office
Office of Federal Programs Administration
Data Services
Exceptional Student Leadership
Gifted Education
Office of Language, Culture, and Equity
Prevention Initiatives / Early Childhood Ed.
Unit of Student Assessment
19
Additional resources and information from the Colorado
Department of Education
Available on the CDE website at
www.cde.state.co.us/cdereval/rvRace-Ethnicity.htm
Resources
• NCES - Managing an Identity Crisis: Forum
Guide to Implementing New Federal Race
and Ethnicity Categories
• CDE Race and Ethnicity Brochure
• April 9th 2008 Scoop Announcement
• Presentation (May 30, 2008)
• Racial/Ethnic Data Collection
Implementation Plan
• How to Maximize Participation in New
Racial/Ethnic Categories from
Parents/Guardians
Parent Information
• Sample District Letter to Parents
• Sample Collection Question Format for
Students
• Parents Race/Ethnicity Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQs)
District Information
• Sample District Letter to Staff
• Sample Collection Question Format for Staff
• District Race/Ethnicity Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ)
• Outreach Activities
Technical
• 2010-2011 Data Collection Edits (proposed)
• How Collected Race and Ethnicity
Information will be Reported
Final Federal Guidance
• Racial and Ethnic Guidelines
US Department of Education Links
• Dear Colleague letter from Assistant
Secretary of Education Bill Evers
• US Department of Education Race and
Ethnicity Policy Questions and Answers
20