AB 1281 Brings Outdated Racial And Ethnic Data Collection Practices Up To Current Standards - California Progress Report: Schools in the United States have historically reflected the classification of students’ race and ethnicity based on the categories utilized by the federal government. Those classifications have been set in many different ways over the years as demographic changes have occurred and people’s nomenclature for themselves or their group(s) have been updated by the U. S. Census Bureau, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the U. S. Department of Education.
States, school districts, and local schools have been able to maintain their unique particular demographics by adding, subtracting, or changing wording of their school forms, including enrollment, test, and other forms that ask for racial and/or ethnic data. For example, updates have been made over the years to change colored to Negro then to African American or Black; Oriental has become Asian with sub-categories; Hispanic or Latino is an ethnic, not racial category on the census; and the ”n” has been dropped from Alaskan Native to become Alaska Native.
In our fluid society of immigration and intermarriage, it is our responsibility to properly reflect the entire heritage of our population. Some school districts in California list 20 or more races and ethnicities on forms, but limit students to choosing only one.
