Hi all! Sharing in case this is of interest to you all as ACS data users- The Census Quality Reinforcement (CQR) Task Force has organized a sign-on letter concerning the Census Bureau's recent ACS/PRCS Federal Register Notice and the decision not to implement the updated OMB race and ethnicity standards in the 2027 ACS. More details below!
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Dear colleagues,
The Census Quality Reinforcement (CQR) Task Force has prepared a sign-on comment letter in response to the Census Bureau's 30-day Federal Register Notice published on May 14, 2026 regarding the ACS and PRCS. We will be accepting both individual and organizational signatures.
The letter responds to concerns raised by the May 14 notice, which seeks comment on revisions to the ACS and PRCS but omits any discussion of proposed updates to the survey's race and ethnicity questions that were included in the Census Bureau's December 2025 Federal Register Notice. In that earlier notice, the Census Bureau proposed implementing updated race and ethnicity questions beginning in 2027 to align with OMB Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (SPD 15), including the adoption of a combined race and ethnicity question, the addition of a Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) category, and the collection of more detailed subgroup data. The current FRN includes supporting documents that specify that the Census Bureau will not implement the new SPD 15 race and ethnicity standards beginning in 2027.
The CQR letter argues that the updated OMB SPD 15 race and ethnicity standards should be implemented in the 2027 ACS, consistent with the Census Bureau's published research record, OMB's deliberative revision process, the public comment record from earlier Federal Register notices, and the Census Bureau's own implementation analysis.
The full letter can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ig-XrUOE1_VfYqy4JIGB00zX3nQIh1copSThfEO6gPw/edit?usp=sharing
To sign the letter, please fill out this form by 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT on Friday, June 12.
We encourage organizations and individuals to sign on. Or feel free to use this language as you see fit to inform your own separate FRN comments.
Additionally, please feel free to share this letter and sign-on link widely with your networks.
Best,
Taylor