Ethnicity and Race Reporting
The U.S. Department of Education requires all states to collect information on the race and ethnicity of public school students. The federal government's collection of ethnicity and race data provides a more accurate picture of the nation’s ethnic and racial diversity.
Information regarding a student’s race and ethnicity is requested at the time of enrollment in Newport News Public Schools (NNPS). This information is used in all state and federally sponsored statistical data collections that include data on ethnicity or race. Some examples include student record cards and test results.
The two-part question on ethnicity and race allows individuals to report their heritage more accurately than in the past. The first part of the two-part question asks whether or not the respondent is Hispanic or Latino. The second part asks the respondent to select one or more races from five racial groups.
Ethnicity and race categories are defined as follows:
Ethnicity
- Hispanic or Latino: A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
Race
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American Indian or Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains a tribal affiliation or community attachment.
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Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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Black or African American: A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
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Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.
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White: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.