School Is Asking for My Child's Race

Feel free not to fill out the form but know that the more diverse a school's population is, the more funds that school may be eligible to apply for. My son attends one of ISD 196's (MN) most diverse elementary schools (and that is saying something because Eagan is by and large caucasian) and I know I never have to worry that the extra programs (field trips, speakers, etc.), gifted programs, and enrichhment programs will go unfunded.

I know that you have gotten a lot of responses but I wanted to add a couple of things from personal experience. The ethnic question is in fact related to No Child Left Behind like others have said. Unfortunately, schools can no longer have the option for other. Because of how Adequate Yearly Process is determined for No Child Left Behind there has to be a specific ethnic group chosen. In the district that I teach in, if a parent doesn't answer the question (or adds a category like human)the computer automatically defaults to white as the student's race. I have come across student records that state the child's first language is something other than English (like Arabic) and their birthplace is somewhere outside of the United States (like Saudia Arabia) but their records say they are white. I agree that ethinc background shouldn't matter and I don't think the five choices are enough (my daughter is Asian-American and I don't know which I would mark if I had to choose just one). Unfortunately, thanks to No Child Left Behind, that's the way things are now.

S.,

It's the "no child left behind" act that triggered all of this. It's about collecting statistical and census information and so the government can track test scores and delegate funds accordingly. It is the government's attempt to make up for centuries of racism, but in my opinion, they are just swinging from one end of the pendulum to the other.

S.

We're not all the same race, and this is no secret. When it is a secret, then there's a problem. I think that grantwriting or funding are the only reasons your school or the government asks for race to be specified.

BRAVO!!!! I agree with you whole heartedly! If you are forced to answer you have 2 options you may not have thought about. First, you can check "Other." If pressed to fill in a detailed response, you reply with "Human" or "Answering could endager my children and myself." The other option is to follow the rules on the census which states that the race is determined by the mother's race. I don't know if you can be forced to give your race on anything other than census forms. You might want to ask about seeing the regulations they are trying to invoke. Good luck! Liz

my brother checked the other box and put human on ALL of his college and scholarship applications. He got a minority scholarship, when he called to tell them that he was white and what he had put they said there was no way to reverse the award and he was to use it for school. i don't like having to put it down, but they need it for funding and census reasons.

They usually need the race for statistics and funding and this and that. If a school district has a large minority of a certain race or this or that they can get extra funding or have specialists come in and pay for that. I live in a school district that is very diverse and our neighboring school district is not so the state let us have magnet schools and let the other districts kids come over to our and the state funded extra money for this. It is all nonsense if you ask me but that is the reasoning. I don't think anyone can force you to list it.

I have no idea what I will put down for race when it comes to 10mo.old she's tri-racial if you ask me white,black,native. She's not biracial in my eyes but tri-racial. I'm sure they don't have a option for that.

I am sorry if this sounds out of place, but reading one of the responses, I have to say this: people whose first language is not English (like Arabic or Persian or Indian or whatever) or who were born outside the US, can still be racially white. Arabs ARE racially considered to be white, or Caucasian. White does not mean European only.

Isn't there an "other " box?? Just check that w/ no other follow up information! If you really are that concerned about the legalities of this I would look up the local ACLU office and ask them for direction re: information on the legality of this. Good luck!

Hi S.,

That data is collected, not to be personal or judgmental, but to find trends in educational needs. The schools get funding based on ethnic diversity in case special needs are not being met, such as English as a second language, or whether translators are needed for parent information nights. It's not used to center anyone out, but to ensure unique needs are being met.

S., School funding is based, right or wrong, on ethnicity. That is why they are asking. Also with No Child Left Behind, the requirements for each school depend on how many children of a specific ethnic "group" are being reached, etc. Right or wrong, this is why.

I understand your point of view. Race is a social construct with no scientific basis. Eventually, and not too far in the future, this country will need to drop that question on all forms because the majority of people will be "multi-racial". In the meantime, I agree with your other responders who explain that our schools use this information for funding, districting, magnet school creation, test reporting, etc.

My daughters school did too, it is a new policy of the DoE... My husband just told me a great idea that i wished i did! He said to ALWAYS mark OTHER and beside that in the blank write HUMAN. I love that idea!!!

He and I both agree that us choosing a race and writing this down for individual children is promoting racism, not what we want... we want to promote who they are and I'm sorry but I have a problem with school funds being distributed based on race! That is Racism!

Hi S.,

I had this quandry when enrolling my oldest in school. Both are what I would call multi-racial. Their dad is 1/8 American Indian and the rest African American. I am a mixture of English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Polish, Italian, Irish, Norwegian, and Russian.

I went to the Board of Education as they allowed only one selection for race and I believed ALL were equally important.

Bottom line is that if I chose "Caucasian", and there was any issues with them being treated unfairly, bullied, etc, the school couldn't do anything about it. If I listed them as Black, then the school could step in and get it taken care of. If I chose both, they'd default it to Caucasian. I opted for the Black for their school records.

I also notified the State Dept of Education that they needed to update their systems and forms to allow for multiple selections...the county forms have you "select all that apply", why not the schools?

Good luck...I hope this helps...at least a little bit... :)

~T.

The school district I used to teach for would get different funding depending upon how many children they had from specific races. I don't understand it exactly, and when I had to fill out that portion of the form, I just let the parents choose one. It's so hard to choose just one, because many children are lots of different nationalities...I know mine are. Just pick the one; or pick "other" if that's an option you are more comfortable with. No one sees it but the school office people.

don't really know. I hadn't heard that before and I'm interested to see everyone else's response. I totally agree with you but usually include my kids' race just in case they want it for census info or something. my kids are 3/4 white and 1/4 Phillipino, so I always check both boxes, even if some people would say "that's pretty much white". I don't want to discount the Pacific Islander part!

I thought I'd explain the No Child Left Behind Act in another way.

The schools are judged on their performance to improve education for ALL students. To make sure that this happens the students are divided into SEVERAL categories and compared. Are the girls performing as well as the boys? Special Ed students as well as the mainstream kids? Poor vs. wealthy? Caucasian vs. Native American? Native American vs. African American? etc.

Once testing comes back and they find that there is a significant trend good or bad, they are to adjust their efforts and make improvements. And yes, this is where federal funding comes in from the NCLB act.

I totally agree with you that there could be a better system and that we are all human and many Americans would have a problem choosing one box. And just because we are told to do something doesn't make it always feel right.

I work for a school and yes, it is true that it is required now. I know that all the census forms were updated this school year to include that information.

FYI - my workplace has their employees fill out the form also for statistical purposes. If the employee chooses not to fill it out, the HR person has to choose one for them based on what they look like.

My kids are black/white mixed. We have always marked black/white - even when we weren't allowed to.

On a side note - when you fill out the census for the federal government, the entire race of your family is based on whoever is listed first.

I am pretty sure that this has to do with demographic studies. I guess I have always felt the same way about answering the annual household income question, what difference does it make... It possibly could affect funding that the school does receive as well.

Hi S.,
YES - this is now government rules! The government does all kinds of research on the ethnicity of each school district and the learning/DStep testing. Also - this year is the first year that all employees in the school district must submit their ethnicity too.

Whether homeschooled or in the school, this must be done.

The No Child Left Behind Act requires schools get a breakdown, by race (among other things) of the test scores in a school. I would suggest calling your child's school directly and asking if you need to provide that information, given that you have ethical issues with the questions.

Is it really legal to collect race and ethnicity data on students and staff?

Yes. There are state and federal laws that require race and ethnicity data to be collected, such as laws enabling state assessments (e.g. Education Code Section 60640), Special Education data collection (Education Code sections 56601 and 56602), and federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) work force reports (Section 709(c), Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1967, as Amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972).