Summary and Conclusions

In response to Federal Register notices issued by OMB in June 1994 (59FR29831-35) and August 1995 (60FR44674-93) requesting comments on the standards for the classification of federal data on race and ethnicity, a large number of comments came from parents of children with mixed racial heritage who said that selecting one racial category when registering their children for school did not allow the children to express the racial heritage of both their parents. The results of this survey suggest that state departments of education have also received comments from parents and school districts requesting that alternatives be provided to the five standard federal categories currently in use. A majority of states reported they had received comments that involved requests for the inclusion of a "multiracial" category. A total of eight states have modified the categories used to classify students, and five of these states have added a "multiracial" category.

Respondents varied in their opinions about the impact changes to the five standard federal categories would have on the maintenance and reporting of trend data. While 17 states expressed the concern that changes would affect their enrollment projections and/or prevent comparisons over time, 10 states indicated that the impact had been, or would be, minimal. In general, states that had already implemented changes were less concerned about the effects of changes on these and other procedures than were those states which had not made changes but were asked to consider the impact of possible changes to the federal system. States also varied in their opinions about the need to make changes to the current system. Eighteen states expressed the view that no changes were warranted or necessary. Twenty states indicated that changes were needed to reflect the nation's racial and ethnic diversity and the increasing number of students of mixed-race backgrounds. Two states indicated a need for an "unknown" or "other" category. The remaining 10 states expressed the opinion that there was a need for change but had no specific recommendations (Georgia's respondent was "not sure" whether current procedures needed to change.)

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