OAR 943-070-0020
Demographic Data Collection Standards

(1) To the greatest extent practicable, all programs and activities of the Authority and Department, including activities to promote workforce diversity, and any data collection or reporting the Authority or Department does on behalf of other state agencies, through any means, must collect REALD information in accordance with these rules and Authority and Department policy.
(2) To the greatest extent practicable, the Authority and the Department must require contractors and subcontractors, who collect, record or report any demographic data on behalf of the Authority and Department to collect REALD information in accordance with these rules and Authority and Department policy.
(3) A requestor, when collecting REALD information in accordance with these rules, must comply with the following standards:
(a) Individuals should be asked to self-report answers to the questions and information should not be assumed or prejudged.
(b) If an individual is unable to self-report, a family member, advocate, or authorized representative may answer the questions.
(c) Never fill in demographic information for an individual if an answer is missing or has otherwise not been provided by the individual or the individual’s caregiver, except as permitted in section (5) of this rule. Questions must be asked in the exact way they are worded in these rules, except that pronouns can be changed or substituted with proper nouns. For example, the question “How do you identify your race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, country of origin, or ancestry?” could be changed to “How does your child identify their race, ethnicity, tribal affiliation, country of origin, or ancestry?”. The question about hearing loss, “Are you deaf or have serious difficulty hearing?” can be changed to “Is your child deaf or do they have serious difficulty hearing?”.
(4) When collecting REALD information a requestor must offer the following response options in addition to any other responses required in these rules:
(a) For all REALD questions, except for the question in OAR 943-070-0030 (Race and Ethnicity Demographic Data Collection Standard)(1):
(A) “Declined”, “declined to answer” or “don’t want to answer”. This response should be used by an individual or the individual’s caregiver when the individual or caregiver is choosing not to answer the question.
(B) “Unknown,” or “do not know”. This response should be used by an individual or an individual’s caregiver when the individual or caregiver does not know the answer to the question.
(b) For questions regarding primary racial or ethnic identity in OAR 943-070-0030 (Race and Ethnicity Demographic Data Collection Standard)(3), in addition to the response options listed in subsection (a) of this section, a requestor must include the following response options:
(A) “I do not have just one primary racial or ethnic identity”.
(B) “I identify as Biracial or Multi-racial”.
(c) Response options for the disability questions specified in OAR 943-070-0050 (Disability Demographic Data Collection Standards) (2)(e) and (3)(b), in addition to the response options listed in subsection (4)(a) of this rule, must also include the response option “I do not know what this question is asking”.
(5) When the race, ethnicity, signed, written or spoken language or disability status of an individual is required by federal law and an individual is unable or unwilling to self-report, this information must be recorded by the requestor as “staff determined” combined with the “unknown” category for state level analysis.
(6) When reporting REALD responses a requestor must:
(a) Mark a response as “not applicable” or leave blank if a question was allowed to be skipped under the rules.
(b) Mark a response as “did not answer” or “missing” if the question was applicable but was not answered with any response.
(7) Requests for demographic information must be distinct from questions related to program eligibility criteria and an individual’s decision not to answer questions related to demographic data must not affect eligibility or inclusion in any related program or benefit.
(8) Nothing in these rules prohibits the collection of information for purposes of establishing eligibility for a specific program or service.
(9) The date for when the REALD data was collected must be captured and included in the dataset holding the data.
(10) Every time data is collected an individual must be asked REALD questions unless they have been asked by the requestor within the previous 12 months or have been asked within the last 12 months but there is information missing. If the response to any questions is marked as “missing” or “did not answer” the requestor must attempt to collect the missing information even if the REALD questions were asked by the requestor within the last 12 months. A requestor does not need to attempt to collect missing information except annually, if a response is marked as “declined”, “declined to answer” or “don’t want to answer”, or the response is marked as “not applicable”.
(11) Entities using online platforms to collect REALD information described in this rule may not use “other” as a response option unless otherwise permitted by these rules.
(12) Methods used to collect information in accordance with these rules:
(a) Must comply with:
(A) The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
(B) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the extent that an individual may have a right to the translation of materials or interpreter services in order to be able to answer the questions.
(C) Authority or Department policies related to the ADA, language access requirements, or the advancement of health equity.
(b) Must account for the need to gather data from individuals with disabilities, non-English speakers and individuals with other access barriers.
(c) Must not be used to exclude individuals from data collection efforts just because the method for collection has to be changed to accommodate the needs of particular individuals.
(d) If providing written materials, the requestor must ask if there is a need for written materials in an alternate format, including but not limited to: another language, braille, large print, or audio.

Source: Rule 943-070-0020 — Demographic Data Collection Standards, https://secure.­sos.­state.­or.­us/oard/view.­action?ruleNumber=943-070-0020 (accessed May 26, 2025).

May 26, 2025

Rule 943-070-0020's source at or​.us