Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity

Résumé

By this Notice, OMB is announcing its decision concerning the revision of Statistical Policy Directive No. 15, Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting. OMB is accepting the recommendations of the Interagency Committee for the Review of the Racial and Ethnic Standards with the following two modifications: (1) the Asian or Pacific Islander category will be separated into two categories--``Asian'' and ``Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander,'' and (2) the term ``Hispanic'' will be changed to ``Hispanic or Latino.'' The revised standards will have five minimum categories for data on race: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White. There will be two categories for data on ethnicity: ``Hispanic or Latino'' and ``Not Hispanic or Latino.'' The Supplementary Information in this Notice provides background information on the standards (Section A); a summary of the comprehensive review process that began in July 1993 (Section B); a brief synopsis of the public comments OMB received on the recommendations for changes to the standards in response to the July 9, 1997, Federal R