Washington—SEARAC is extremely concerned by the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) decision to delay the implementation of Statistical Policy Directive No. 15 (SPD 15) by another year. At a time when Southeast Asian American (SEAA) communities continue to navigate deep inequities, any delay in improving data on SEAAs risks keeping our communities invisible to the very systems meant to serve them.
SPD 15 sets the federal minimum standards for how federal agencies maintain, collect, and report race and ethnicity data. It requires federal agencies to collect minimum race and detailed ethnic data of the following Asian communities: Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, Vietnamese Korean, Japanese, and ‘Another group’ (for example, Pakistani, Hmong, Afghan, etc.). Federal agencies’ action plans for implementing the new standards were supposed to be due at the end of last month; the new deadline is now March 28, 2027.
“Disaggregated data is not optional; it’s essential,” said Quyên Đinh, Executive Director of SEARAC. “Without it, Southeast Asian American communities remain unseen and underserved. The updated data standards in SPD 15 are necessary to ensure our communities are visible in the data that drive decisions on resources, services, and policies.
“OMB’s extension prolongs our concerns about how federal data, and the policies and programs that rely on it, continue to fail SEAA communities. The updated standards were a critical step forward, but their impact depends on full and timely implementation.”
SEARAC continues to emphasize that collecting detailed, disaggregated data is necessary to capture the diversity within Asian American communities, including SEAA communities who are too often grouped together and overlooked. Additionally, data collections must retain accuracy and reliability, as well as strong guardrails against misuse. Without this level of detail and reliability, disparities in health, education, and economic opportunity remain hidden.
