Proposed Changes in Federally Mandated Race and Ethnic Classifications May Undermine Their Original Purpose

Abstract

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is proposing an overhaul of “Statistical Policy Directive 15,” commonly referred to informally as OMB15 , the mandated method for collecting data on and classifying the race and ethnic status of the American population. Initiated in 1977, the standards for collecting data on race and ethnicity are mandated to be used by the Census Bureau and all federal agencies, and eventually all state, local, and private entities that receive federal funds, and/or come under civil rights compliance provisions designed to monitor disparities and correct discrimination. The classification was developed to monitor compliance with several civil rights laws affecting many sectors of American life that were passed in the 1960s and in later years. The widespread use and enormous implications of changes in how the United States collects race and ethnicity data mean that we should be very cautious about changes like the ones that have been proposed, and we think it would be wise to make these mandated data classifications both as simple as possible for the U.S. population to understand their meaning and to apply them in the many areas where they are to be used.