OMB publishes new race categories

On March 29, 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published revisions to federal data that covered entities must collect on race and ethnicity. Principally, the new revisions would add Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) as a race group and return Hispanic/Latino to the race categories. The revisions to the Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15) would also allow individuals to select multiple categories rather than only a single race/ethnicity category. OMB gave federal agencies 18 months to develop implementation plans for the new categories with an ultimate deadline of five years for full compliance.

Background

The SPD 15, originally developed in 1977, provides common language for uniformity and comparability in the collection and use of race and ethnicity data by federal agencies such as EEO-1 reports. The last time SPD 15 was revised was in 1997.

In January 2023, OMB proposed updating SPD 15, saying “large societal, political, economic, and demographic shifts in the United States” during the past 25 years increased racial and ethnic diversity. As a result, “a growing number of people identify as more than one race or ethnicity.” The revised SPD 15 replaces and supersedes the 1997 SPD 15.

Revised SPD 15 adds new race categories

The new SPD 15 now includes the MENA race/ethnicity category, changes the format to combine the various race and ethnicity questions into one, and allows individuals to select all race/ethnicities that apply.