On October 30 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued new Race and Ethnicity Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting (Revised Directive 15). The new designations for Race are: White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and American Indian or Alaska Native. For Ethnicity the designations are: Hispanic or Latino; and Not Hispanic or Latino. These categories will be the basis for just about all publications issued by the federal statistical agencies. Perhaps the most important, and potentially most controversial decision, is to allow for the reporting of more than one race when self-identification is used on surveys or in other federal data collection. The alternative would be to have added a "multiracial" category, which OMB does NOT recommend. If confidentiality criteria are met, OMB recommends that federal agencies should provide at a minimum the number of individuals identifying with more than one race. The most often used series of data that use these classifications probably come from the decennial census. The Census Bureau adds an "other" category for the decennial census, but later proportionally allocates the responses to this category back into the rest of the groups. The "other" group has been problematic given that about half of those who consider themselves of Hispanic Origin marked "other" for race. It has been recommended that the Hispanic Origin question precede the Race question. The new Directive also issues a set of preliminary tabulation recommendations. OMB believes that the tabulation procedures used by federal agencies should result in the production of as much detailed information on race and ethnicity as possible. Regardless of the method chosen for collapsing multiple race responses, the total number reporting more than one race must be made available. Further review will take place in the next few months by statistical and policy experts, and they will provide recommendations to OMB by Spring 1998. The new standards will be used by the Census Bureau in the 2000 Census and the 2000 Dress Rehearsal scheduled for March 1998. Other federal programs should adopt the standards as soon as possible, but not later than January 1, 2003. For further information, contact Suzann Evinger, Statistical Policy Office at OMB, Phone: 202.395.7245. An electronic copy of the notice is available at: www.whitehouse.gov/WH/EOP/OMB/html/fedreg.html