Initial Proposals For Updating Statistical Policy Directive No. 15:

Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity

October 24, 2023

2023 FCSM Research & Policy Conference

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Background and Current Review’s Scope

Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (SPD 15)

HISTORY OF SPD 15

1977 = Established, 1997 = Last Revised

• New responsibilities to enforce civil rights laws

• Provide common language to promote uniformity, comparability, and consistency across Federal information collections • Developed through cooperative Federal interagency working group process

WHY REVIEW SPD 15 NOW?

• Increase of “Some Other Race” reporting on decennial census and 

American Community Survey

• Many Middle Eastern and North African respondents view their identity as distinct from the White racial category

• Need for disaggregated data to better understand within-group disparities and outcomes

• Inconsistent and outdated terminology

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SPD 15

Use

Constructs

Identity
1997’s SPD 15

Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, & Presenting Federal Data on Race & Ethnicity

Two-Questions Format for 

Self-Response with Minimum Categories

Source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-1997-10-30/pdf/97-28653.pdf

Note: SPD 15 does not dictate the order in which the minimum categories

should be displayed on Federal information collections. Agencies generally order

alphabetically, as shown here, or by population size. 3
Revising SPD 15

Where Are We?

→ June 2022: Chief Statistician of the United States (CSOTUS) announced formal review to revise 

SPD 15 and convening of Federal Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity 

Standards (Working Group)

→ January 2023: OMB released Federal Register Notice which includes Working Group’s initial 

proposals on revising SPD 15, open from January 27 – April 27

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Why We Do Outreach and Engagement

EO 12866: “Seek the involvement of those intended to benefit or 

expected to be burdened”

• to ensure policies have validity and integrity. 

• to ensure policies reflect the best available evidence. 

• to inform and prepare the public.

Meeting our Mission to Improve the Quality and Usefulness of 

Federal Race and Ethnicity Data Requires Input from the Public 

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How We Did Outreach and Engagement

Variety of outreach + communication efforts, and offering diverse 

ways for the public to engage

• White House blog posts

• Website (spd15revision.gov)

• Listening sessions

• Federal Register Notice

• Conferences/convenings

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White House Blog Posts

1. Reviewing and Revising Standards for 

Maintaining, Collecting, and 

Presenting Federal Data on Race 

and Ethnicity

2. OMB Launches New Public Listening 

Sessions on Federal Race and 

Ethnicity Standards Revision

3. Initial Proposals for Revising the 

Federal Race and Ethnicity Standards

Written by 

the Chief Statistician of the United States

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How We Engaged with the Public – Oral Comments

• Biweekly listening sessions

• Fall 2022 – Fall 2023

• Three Public Town Halls

• Tribal Consultation

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Federal Register Notice – Written Comments

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20,255 comments
Conferences/Convenings

Sessions with professional associations

• Population Association of America Annual Meeting 

• Committee on Population Statistics

• American Statistical Association’s Joint Statistical Meetings

• American Sociological Association Annual Meeting

• Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology

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What Did We Receive?

• 20,000+ written public 

comments

• Including a number of letter 

writing campaigns

• Tribal Consultation

• 18 Conferences/Convenings*

• Listening Sessions

• Three Public Town Halls

• 200 verbal comments over 9 hours

• 3,550 callers to the webinars

• Biweekly listening sessions

• 26 days

• 94 sessions

• 114 total speakers

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*previous or planned presentations
Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 1

Question Format

Collect race and ethnicity information using one combined question. • The Working Group proposes that SPD 15 move from the two separate questions format to a single 

combined question as the required design for self-reported race and ethnicity information collections. • Employing a new combined question design may take significant time and resources for some surveys and 

information collections to implement. • Flexibilities should be allowed for agencies dependent on aggregate data, data that are not self-reported, or 

data from non-Federal providers.

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 1

Question Format

Background

• Evidence suggests that the use of separate race and ethnicity questions confuses many respondents who 

instead understand race and ethnicity to be similar, or the same, concepts. • For example, a large and increasing percentage of Hispanic or Latino respondents on the decennial census 

and American Community Survey over the past several decades are either not reporting a race or their 

responses are classified as Some Other Race.

In the 2020 Census, the Some Other Race alone or in combination group (49.9 million)

surpassed the Black or African American population (46.9 million) becoming the

second-largest race alone or in combination group. About 90 percent of the Some

Other Race alone or in combination group were of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 2

“Middle Eastern or North African”

Add “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) as a new minimum category. • The Working Group proposes that “Middle Eastern or North African” be added to SPD 15 as a new minimum 

reporting category distinct from all other reporting categories. • The definition of the current “White” reporting category would be edited to remove MENA from its 

definition. • The Working Group developed the following draft definition of a MENA minimum category to be inclusive of 

both Middle Eastern and North African populations and with the rationale of listing larger population groups 

in the United States:

The category “Middle Eastern or North African” includes all individuals who identify with one or

more nationalities or ethnic groups with origins in the Middle East and North Africa. Examples

include, but are not limited to, Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Syrian, Moroccan, and Israeli.

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 2

“Middle Eastern or North African”

Background

• Currently in SPD 15, the “White” minimum category specifically includes in its definition those having origins 

in any of the original peoples of the Middle East or North Africa. • Research suggests that many MENA respondents view their identity as distinct from White, and stakeholders 

have, for over 30 years, advocated for collecting MENA information separate from White.

The 2015 National Content Test Race and Ethnicity Analysis Report found that using a distinct MENA 

category appears to elicit higher quality data for people who identify as MENA. • Nearly 80 percent of people who identified as MENA used the MENA category when it was available. • When no MENA category was present, a MENA response was usually reported in the White category 

(about 85 percent). • Reporting of MENA responses in the Some Other Race category was significantly reduced from 11.5 

percent without a MENA category to 3.3 percent with a MENA category present. 

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 3

Collecting Detailed Race and Ethnicity Data

Require the collection of detailed race and ethnicity categories by default. • The Working Group proposes that SPD 15 require data collection on race and ethnicity at the detailed 

category levels. • Unless an agency determines that the potential benefit of the detailed data would not justify the additional 

burden to the agency and the public or the additional risk to privacy or confidentiality. In those cases, 

agencies must at least use the SPD 15’s minimum categories. • In any circumstance, agencies are encouraged to collect and provide more granular data than the minimum 

categories.

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 3

Collecting Detailed Race and Ethnicity Data

Background

• The minimum categories in SPD 15 contain heterogeneity, as evidenced by differences in a wide variety of 

outcomes for distinct groups within their definitions. • The increasing demand for analysis that represents the diversity of the American public increases the need 

for race and ethnicity information disaggregated beyond – or more granular than – SPD 15’s minimum 

categories. • The collection of disaggregated information already occurs in many circumstances; for example, some 

current information collections use detailed checkboxes and/or write-in fields to collect detailed race and 

ethnicity data. • However, collecting data using only the minimum categories may be necessary when, for example, low 

response rates among population groups lead to non-representative data, small sample sizes make estimates 

about disaggregated groups statistically unreliable, data is collected by proxy, or small cell sizes in data 

analyses and publications create privacy and confidentiality risks.

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 3

Collecting Detailed Race and Ethnicity Data

Proposed Example for Self-Response Data 

Collections: Combined Question with Minimum and 

Detailed Categories

• Represents one of potentially several options for 

establishing a consistent approach to collecting more 

detailed data, with the minimum categories 

disaggregated by country of origin

• Chosen by the Working Group because it reflects the 

approach that performed best of the options tested by 

the Census Bureau prior to the 2020 Census

• Country of origin options reflect the most common 

countries of origin in the U.S. for each minimum category

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 3

Collecting Detailed Race and Ethnicity Data

Proposed Example for Self-Response Data 

Collections: Combined Question with Minimum 

Categories

• Represents the Working Group’s proposed minimum 

categories, for use when more detailed collection is not 

feasible or justified. • It incorporates other proposals from the Working Group 

to use a combined race and ethnicity question and to add 

a new minimum category for MENA.

 Note: The Working Group’s initial proposals do not 

include an order in which the minimum categories should 

be displayed on Federal information collections. Agencies 

generally order alphabetically or by population size, as 

shown here. The Federal Register Notice is soliciting 

public feedback on this via question 6a. 20
Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 4

Terminology

Terminologies Used Within Minimum Categories

• Remove: -“Negro” from the Black or African American definition; 

“Far East” from the Asian definition, replacing with “East Asian”; 

“Other” from “Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander”; the 

phrase “who maintain tribal affiliation or community 

attachment” in the American Indian or Alaska Native definition, 

making this minimum category’s definition consistent with all 

minimum categories

• Correct “Cuban” being listed twice in the minimum category 

definition for “Hispanic or Latino.”

• Change the American Indian or Alaska Native minimum category 

description to: “The category ‘American Indian or Alaska Native’ 

includes all individuals who identify with any of the original 

peoples of North, Central, and South America.”

“Majority/Minority”

• Discontinue use of the terms “majority” and “minority.”

Question Stem and Instructions

• If a combined race and ethnicity question is adopted, the 

question stem use "race" and "ethnicity" as part of the question, 

i.e., “What is < your/name’s > race or ethnicity?”

• The current instructions of “Mark < X > one or more” and “Select 

< X > one or more” be updated to “Mark all that apply” and 

“Select all that apply.”

Update terminology in SPD 15. 

The Working Group proposes that SPD 15 make the following changes:

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 4

Terminology

Background

• The terminology used in SPD 15 should seek to ensure that all people are able to identify themselves within 

one or more of the minimum categories, that the minimum and detailed categories reflect meaningful and 

easy to understand distinctions, and that the language used is respectful of how people refer to themselves.

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 5

Implementation Guidance

• The dates agencies must meet as they incorporate 

revisions to information collections, • Statistical methods to connect data produced from 

previous and revised collection formats (e.g., bridging 

between data collected via two questions without MENA 

and data collected via one question with MENA), • Procedures for collecting, processing, and reporting 

detailed racial and ethnic categories, • Approaches for collecting race and ethnicity information 

when self-identification is not possible, i.e., data 

collected by a proxy or observation and/or by entities 

outside of SPD 15’s purview (e.g., State or local 

governments, hospitals, or schools),

• Approaches for reporting data for respondents who 

select more than one race or ethnicity. Specifically, 

guidance is needed on how to balance providing detailed 

information, for example by including all possible 

combinations of multiple responses, and providing a 

single category when needed (e.g., “multiracial”), • Guidance on obtaining approval under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act to revise existing race and ethnicity data 

collections, and

• Best practices for agencies to rely on when 

communicating SPD 15 revisions to stakeholders.

Guidance is necessary to implement SPD 15 revisions on Federal information collections.

The Working Group proposes that SPD 15 and its related documents be placed online in a central location and include 

implementation guidance on:

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Current Federal Register Notice – Initial Proposal 5

Implementation Guidance

Background

• It is a significant undertaking for agencies to implement changes to censuses, surveys, and administrative 

forms that collect race and ethnicity data. Agencies need guidance to implement any potential SPD 15 

revisions like those included in the Working Group’s initial proposals.

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January 2023 Federal Register Notice

Initial Proposed Example Designs for 

Self-Response Data Collections

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Combined Question with 

Minimum and Detailed Categories

Combined Question with 

Minimum Categories
Working Group Conducting Additional Research

To Supplement Extensive Knowledge 

Example Research Areas:

1. Combined question without Some Other Race category

2. Modifications to question stem and instructions

3. Establishment and business surveys

4. Bridging factors

Examples of Methods:

1. Exploratory interviews

2. Cognitive interviews

3. Respondent debriefings

4. Unmoderated online testing

5. Split-sample ballot testing

The Working Group is collaborating with multiple agencies on conducting qualitative and quantitative testing. Participating agencies include:

 Bureau of Justice Statistics*

 Bureau of Labor Statistics*

 Census Bureau*

 Department of Defense*

 Department of Housing and Urban Development

 Energy Information Administration

 General Services Administration

 National Center for Education Statistics*

 National Center for Health Statistics*

 National Center for Science and Engineering 

Statistics*

 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 

Administration*

 U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural 

Statistics Service*

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Other Race/Ethnicity Presentations at FCSM

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Thank You!

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