New Ethnicity Census Allows for Mixed Races

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Jacob Moore
May 21, 2009
Filed under News Briefs

Parents browsing their children’s most recent report cards were surprised to find a bright green slip of paper with some unusual questions.

The document – a state-mandated census regarding ethnicity – was sent out to all parents of MISD students.

“We have always coded for ethnicity,” Shirley Stone, an attendance clerk at Tarver Rendon Elementary, said. “Parents were excited to be able to choose more than one ethnicity.”

The state recently changed the way it collects data on students’ race; previously, children in mixed race households were only identified with one.

This information is collected by the Texas Education Agency, and sent to the United States Department of Education (USDE). The state and federal governments use this information for accountability reporting, as well as reporting to the Office of Civil Rights.

“It actually benefits students in the long run,” Pam Patterson, the Legacy PEIMS clerk, said. “It just lets the state get a new idea of the ethnicity of its current students.”

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