OMB Seeks Comments on Proposed Changes to Federal Race and Ethnicity Standards (Deadline: April 27)
The Office of Management and Budget requests comments on the initial proposals from the Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards for revising OMB’s 1997 Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15). Responses to this Notice will be shared with the Working Group and will help them develop their final recommendations to OMB. OMB aims to revise SPD 15 to improve the quality and usefulness of Federal race and ethnicity data.The deadline to submit comments has been extended to April 27
This process commenced last summer with the goal of ensuring that the standards better reflect the diversity of the American people. Comprising Federal government career staff who represent more than 20 agencies, the Working Group was charged with proposing recommendations for improving the quality and usefulness of Federal race and ethnicity data. Those initial proposals include:
- Collecting race and ethnicity together with a single question;
- Adding a response category for Middle Eastern and North African, separate and distinct from the “White” category; and
- Updating SPD 15’s terminology, definitions, and question wording.
Specific questions for comment are articulated in the Federal Register. Social scientists with relevant expertise are encouraged to submit comments.