Beginning in 2009-2010, a two-part question will be required to collect race and ethnicity data on students and staff.
The two-part question separates ethnicity and race. It includes two categories for ethnicity and five for race, and respondents are allowed to choose more than one race. Hispanic/Latino is considered an ethnicity, not a race. The CDE recommends that the following wording be included on data collection forms, “Multiracial students/staff may select two or more races.” The individual data collection format of the two-part federal question is as follows, with the ethnicity part asked first:

Ethnicity (Select one):

• Hispanic or Latino
• Not Hispanic or Latino

Race (Select one or more, regardless of Ethnicity):

• American Indian or Alaskan Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• Black or African American
• White

Schools and districts will be required to begin collecting data using this format beginning in the 2009-2010 school year. In addition to the federal minimum individual categories, California Government Code Section 8310.5 requires state agencies to collect data for each major Asian and Pacific Islander group, including, but not limited to, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Laotian, Cambodian, Filipino, Hmong, Hawaiian, Guamanian, Samoan, and Tahitian.