[Law26] FW: EXTERNAL EMAIL: First-year student Demographic survey

[Leonard, J. Rich]

Gang,

Sending this at the direction of our accrediting body.

Dean Leonard

From: Deans at ABA Approved Law Schools <LEAP-DEANS at MAIL.AMERICANBAR.ORG> On Behalf Of William Adams
Sent: Monday, October 9, 2023 10:41 AM
To: LEAP-DEANS at MAIL.AMERICANBAR.ORG
Subject: EXTERNAL EMAIL: First-year student Demographic survey

CAUTION: This email originated from outside of Campbell University. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Good morning, Deans,



As you will recall, after schools expressed concern about the expanded demographic data collection,  we agreed to collect this data from first-year students via a survey by us on an experimental basis.  Please send the attached email to all your matriculated first-year students.  For this to be successful going forward, it is essential that all schools cooperate with our request.



Thanks to those of you who participated in our worktables and those of you who contacted us directly with questions and concerns about the data collection.  Your input helped us to improve this data collection process.  We hope the following information will provide even further understanding of why the Council is collecting this data.



Please contact Dan Becker at daniel.becker at americanbar.org<mailto:daniel.becker at americanbar.org> if you have further questions.



Why is the ABA asking new questions?

The ABA is asking questions about disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity to accurately reflect the identity of the students in ABA law schools. We hope collecting this data: (1)  will enhance the possibility that a current student will see themselves reflected in the identity choices, (2) will enable enforcement of our Standards related to non-discrimination, equality of opportunity, and inclusion, (3) will provide accurate consumer information to future law school applicants about the composition of each law school's student body, and (4) will comprehensively track the progress of the profession in diversifying its composition to reflect the communities it represents and serves.

What was the process the ABA used to determine whether to change its data collection and what data to collect?

The ABA began to consider changing its data collection categories when urged to do so by groups in legal education, in the profession, and within the ABA.  The Council's Data Policy Committee began work on this initiative in 2021.  Its process included consultation with experts; meetings with LSAC, NALP, and ETS about their data collection processes and categories; a Roundtable in July 2021<https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/2021/21-july-rountable-report.pdf>;  and a Worktable in March 2023<https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/2023/worktables-collected-notes-for-posting-on-web.pdf>.

Why has the ABA changed the race and ethnicity categories?  Why doesn't the ABA think it's sufficient to rely on IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) categories?

For several years, deans and others have reported problems to the ABA with the IPEDS categories:  Latine students were not able to identify as having more than one race/ethnicity; Middle Eastern and North African students had to identify as white or Black; all Asian students were placed in a single category, even though China and India are the two most populous countries in the world.  The IPEDs categories were causing students to be forced into categories that didn't truly reflect their identities and undercounting a school's diversity.  Using the new categories will provide better information to law school applicants about whether their identity is shared by others in the schools they are considering attending.

Why is the ABA collecting information about disability?

Disability rights advocates and the ABA's Commission on Disability Rights have been urging the ABA to collect this information for some time.  They persuasively make the point that understanding how many people with disabilities are attending law school is an important aspect of a law school's diversity, especially because this group is underrepresented in the profession. The number of students who receive accommodations from law schools is only a subset of the total number of students who have a disability.  This new information will help trace the profession's progress by more accurately including individuals with disabilities and will provide better information to students with disabilities about the composition of the student body at schools they are considering attending.

Why is the ABA collecting information about sexual orientation and gender identity and using new categories?

LGBTQA+ groups - both at law schools and in the ABA - have asked us to count our students from these underrepresented groups using categories that reflect modern understanding of sexuality, gender, gender identity, and gender expression.  While identity as transgender is often swept into the sexual orientation category for advocacy purposes, our categories distinguish between gender and sexual orientation for identity purposes.

Does the Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College case make it illegal to collect this data?

We commend to you the Department of Education guidance on this matter<https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/ocr-questionsandanswers-tvi-20230814.pdf>. We recommend you seek your own legal opinion on this matter.

What if a law school is not allowed to collect this information under state law or University policy?

The ABA is collecting this information directly from the students. Law schools are only forwarding a link.

This is very sensitive and personal information.  How will it be used?  Who will see it?  Should students be worried about misuse of data about disability, sexual orientation, gender, and race by their schools or by bar admission authorities?

Because this data is anonymized, it cannot, and it will not, be used in connection with any school's evaluation of a student, nor will the data be used in any way to affect any student's status as a matriculated student at the reporting school or in connection with admission to practice. Neither the ABA, nor anyone else, will publish any data retrieved from this form in a way that reveals or compromises the identity of any individual student, nor will the ABA (or anyone else) know or connect names to the data collected on this form. Published data will be reported on either a school-by-school basis or a national aggregate basis. Moreover, after the first two questions (law school attending and full-time/part-time), a student may select "prefer not to report" as an answer to every question on the survey. Please note that the Council does not publish any data the first year it collects a new set of data.

The submitted data will be used for the purpose outlined above. The data provided in this form will only be available to ABA employees, Council members, and third parties contracted for the purpose of creating and implementing the survey, research, analysis, or improvement of data collection. The ABA may share the data in the following ways: 1) the data may be shared with law schools in aggregate form and 2) the data may be published in aggregate form. The data will be stored with the ABA on its servers or third-party servers contracted by the ABA. By submitting this form, the student agrees to share the data with the ABA and for the ABA to use, process, store, and share the data as outlined here.

What if a student objects to providing this information?

That student should complete the survey, using the option "prefer not to respond." While this data collection is mandatory and necessary for determining a school's compliance with, inter alia, Standards 205 and 206, all new demographic questions asked include an option, "prefer not to report."

As noted in the email to students, the deadline for completing the survey is February 1, 2024. The ABA will send you reports on the number of your students who have completed the surveys on December 1, 2023 and January 4, 2024.

The text of the email to send the students is in the attached document.



Regards,

Bill



William E. Adams, Jr.

Managing Director

Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

American Bar Association

312.988.5103

william.adams at americanbar.org<mailto:william.adams at americanbar.org>





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