Race
and Ethnicity Regulations and Changes
This
webpage has been developed to help inform parents
and staff about new guidelines from the U.S.
Department of Education regarding the collection of
data on race and ethnicity for public school
students and staff. The federal government, which
requires all states to collect this information, has
developed a new way to report ethnicity and race
that includes new categories.
The
federal government has developed these new
categories in order to provide a more accurate
picture of the nation’s ethnic and racial diversity.
This will enable individuals to be identified in
ethnic and racial classifications and in more than
one racial category. In the past, forms allowed
individuals to be identified in only one racial
category.
Our
schools will need to ask the families of newly
enrolled students AND of all current students to
complete a brief form to update information on their
children’s ethnicity and race. A parent letter and a questionnaire will be sent
home with your child following Spring Break.
Parents are asked to complete and return the
questionnaire to their child's school office by
April 30th.
The data
with the new ethnicity and race categories will be
used in the same manner that such information is
currently used. For example, the federal government
uses racial and ethnic data in reporting and
analyzing test results, such as ISTEP+ and the End
of Course Assessments. The new categories will
replace all existing categories for use in state and
federal data collections that include data on
ethnicity or race.
We have
included links to brochures created by the Indiana
Department of Education that provides additional
information about these changes.
