Ethnicity & Race Reporting Changes
PPS is resurveying all staff about Ethnicity & Race to meet new Federal and State reporting requirements. Read on for more details.
> History and Purpose
For many years, school districts have been required to report race and ethnicity data about our staff to the Federal Government and, in Oregon, to the Oregon Department of Education. This year, the federal government has new requirements on how school districts collect, store, and report race and ethnicity data.
The government uses this data to determine our eligibility for various types of federal and state funding, to evaluate our work on behalf of student groups and to be sure we are in compliance with civil rights laws regarding students and staff. At PPS, we use this data to help track our efforts to diversify our workforce to reflect our student population.
The new requirements include some significant changes in how we report race and ethnicity and we need all staff to self-identify as soon as possible. Employees with a PPS e-mail account will receive an email with a link to the new State/Federal Ethnicity & Race Data Collection Form in electronic format on PPS Inside, along with instructions. For those employees who do not have a PPS e-mail account, the form will be mailed home. We are asking employees to self-identify within 30 days of receiving the electronic or paper form.
> What is Changing?
The federal government now differentiates between ethnicity and race and asks that all employees answer two questions:
(1) Ethnicity - Are you Latino or Hispanic? (Yes or No)
(2) Race - How would you describe your racial identity? Please choose one or more racial categories*:
a. American Indian or Alaska Native
b. Asian
c. Black or African American
d. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
e. White
*The racial categories are defined by the geographic region where a person’s family originated. Refer to the State/Federal Ethnicity & Race Data Collection Form for definitions.
The new requirements are intended to recognize that members of Latino or Hispanic populations can be of different races and to afford people who are Latino or Hispanic the opportunity to better describe themselves according to their culture or heritage. The American Indian or Alaska Native racial category has been expanded to include tribes from Central and South America in addition to North America. The government has also separated Asian and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander into two racial categories.
> Self-Identification is Best
We are asking all staff to self-identify according to the new requirements. If you do not self-identify, federal law requires that the district designate another staff person to choose one or more categories based on prior knowledge and observation; this practice is known as Observer-Identification. We firmly believe self-identification is preferable, but are required to implement Observer-Identification as a last resort to complete a record.
> What Employees Need to Do
Here is a link to the new paper State/Federal Ethnicity & Race Data Collection Form. Please fill it out and return it to Human Resources within 30 days. Employees with PPS e-mail accounts also have the option of using an electronic form on PPS Inside.
We are committed to answering your questions or addressing any concerns you have. Please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for more information and/or speak with Human Resources if you have further questions. Thank you in advance for helping us to collect this new required information.
