The way you fill out race and ethnicity categories on federal forms is changing
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — People will soon have more specific options to check off on federal forms, according to a new directive by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
The directive, announced Thursday, included revisions to questions often seen on federal forms used to collect data on race and ethnicity.
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The process to update Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 — the standards for maintaining, collecting, and presenting federal data on race and ethnicity — began in June 2022. The office said this is the first set of revisions to be made since 1997.
The standards now have seven minimum race/ethnicity categories consisting of the following: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Middle Eastern or North African, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and White.
According to the Federal Register, the revised directive would now require people to be offered options beyond those minimum categories.
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The Middle Eastern or North African category is a new addition under the revised standards. It includes people who identify as Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, Iraqi and Israeli, or any of the other groups originally from the Middle East or North Africa. Previously, these groups were included under the White category in the U.S. Census.
The Hispanic or Latino category has also been newly added. In the past, the Census considered race and Hispanic origin as two separate concepts.
Asians would be able to choose specifically from the following options: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese or “another group.”
People who typically identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander would see these options: Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian, Marshallese, Native Hawaiian or “another group.”
The office said whenever possible, the “another group” categories should come with an option for people to write their preferred self-identification. The changes were made to improve the data collection of racial and ethnic identities as they continue to evolve, the office said.
According to the new directive, agencies will have 18 months to submit their new plans with the revisions and five years to finish implementing the updates.
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