| The U.S. Department of Education requires all states to collect information on the race and ethnicity of students enrolled in public school. This is typically done at the time of registration for all new students. However, the federal government has developed a new way to report ethnicity and race that includes new categories. The changes should provide a more accurate picture of the nation’s ethnic and racial diversity. Beginning with spring 2010, we are asking all families of newly enrolled students to use the new form – Race and Ethnicity Identification Form  – to provide the required race and ethnicity information. This form must be completed and returned to your child/children’s assigned school.
With the start of the 2010-2011 school year, ALL currently enrolled families will be asked to update their children’s race and ethnicity using the same form. |
If I have already provided this information to the school system, why must I provide it again?
In the past, forms for reporting race and ethnicity to the federal government allowed individuals to be identified in only one racial category. The new form enables individuals to be identified in ethnic and racial classifications and in more than one racial category. The federal government is requiring that ethnic and racial information for all students and staff members be reported in this new way in order to reflect the nation’s diversity more accurately.
How will the information be used?
The data with the new ethnicity and race categories will be used in the same manner that racial and ethnic data are currently used. The new categories will replace the existing categories for use in all state and federally sponsored statistical data collections that include data on ethnicity or race. Some examples include student record cards and test results.
Who provides the information?
Parents will complete the Race and Ethnicity Identification Form to identify their children’s ethnic and racial identity and return this form to their child/children’s school. A separate form must be completed for each student enrolled in Virginia Beach City Public Schools.
When and how will the new information be gathered?
Virginia Beach City Public Schools will follow the new federal guidelines beginning in spring 2010. The families of newly enrolling students will complete the Race and Ethnicity Identification Form . With the start of the 2010-2011 school year, the parents of all current students will be asked to provide the new information.
My child will be enrolled as a kindergarten student starting with the 2010-2011 school year. Will I need to complete the Race and Ethnicity Identification Form at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year?
As a parent of a student who will be enrolled in kindergarten with the start of the 2010-2011 school year, you may complete and return the Race and Ethnicity Identification Form during the kindergarten open house that is scheduled on April 27 or at the time you register your child for school.
What changes have been made?
- There is now a two-part question on ethnicity and race. This allows individuals to report their heritage more accurately.
- The term "Hispanic" has been changed to "Hispanic or Latino."
- The racial category "Asian or Pacific Islander" has been separated into two new categories –"Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander."
- Individuals will be able to select one or more races from the five racial groups.
What are the ethnicity and race categories?
The first part of the two-part question asks whether or not the respondent is Hispanic or Latino. The second part asks the respondent to select one or more races from the following five racial groups:
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- White
How are the new ethnicity and race categories defined?
Ethnicity:
- Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Race:
- American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment.
- Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
- Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
- White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.