The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Census 2000 Table of Contents

Background

• An Overview
• The Affect of an Undercount on Local Communities
• Children
• Workers And Their Families
• Education
• People of Color
• Individuals With Disabilities
• Senior Citizens
• Rural Areas
• Business

Census Bureau's Plan

• The Census Bureau's Plan For Census 2000
• Legal Challenges To Sampling
• How Do We Know There Is An Undercount?
• The Difference Between Redistricting and Reapportionment
• What The Experts Say
• What The Newspapers Say
• Frequently Asked Questions
• The Importance Of The Ancestry Question
• Achieving Accuracy In The 2000 Census

Census History

• Facts and Figures
• Census History: 1790-1990
• Census Timeline: 1990-2000

Census 2000 In Your Community

• How You Can Start Preparing For A Fair And Complete Count
• Contacting The Census Bureau

Education

A Number of Critical Education Programs Rely on Accurate Census Information "What could be more basic?...Resources to improve children's education and provide for their safety can only go where they are needed if we know where out children are...We can't proclaim that out children count if we're not even willing to count them accurately."

Deborah Weinstein, Director
Family Income Division
Children's Defense Fund
September 8, 1998

The accuracy of the 2000 census has significant implications for the education of the nation's schoolchildren. Not only does the census provide the U.S. Department of Education with the most comprehensive data on school enrollment and educational attainment, but school district boundaries and funding for many education programs are based on census figures.

A fair and accurate census is critical to modernizing the nation's schools, reducing class size, and putting a qualified teacher in every classroom.

• A fair and accurate census can make significant improvements in the lives of the nation's children.

Data from the census provide federal, state and district governments with benchmarks for evaluating the need for and effectiveness of policies that affect the well-being of children, for determining program eligibility, and for applying financial aid allocation formulas. An inaccurate census means schoolchildren most in need continue getting less than their schools deserve. An accurate count means more equitable funding and steps toward leveling the playing field.
Census information is:

• Used under the Goals 2000 State and Local Education Systematic Improvement program to develop comprehensive education improvement plans for states, local school districts, and schools. Goals 2000 challenges states and communities to develop academic content standards, student performance assessments, and plans for improving teacher training;
• Used for Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities State Grants that provide support to state education agencies for a variety of drug and violence prevention activities focused primarily on school-age youth
• Needed for Special Education Preschool Grants for children ages 3 through 5. Funds under this program are also used to cover the costs of related services including the salaries of special education teachers, speech therapists, and psychologists;
• Used to reform elementary and secondary school programs that serve Indian students under the Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies program; and,
• Needed to fund the Title I Program for Neglected and Delinquent Children that provides grants to states to help provide education continuity for youth in correctional facilities so they can make successful transitions to school or employment once the y are released from state institutions;

Additionally, the decennial census provides a comprehensive demographic database that supports the informed development of education policy. This database is compiled from the census short form sent to all households, and the census long form which is se nt to one of every six households.

• The decennial census provides the most comprehensive data on school enrollment at every educational level, including whether individuals attend public or private schools, and educational attainment;
• These databases on school enrollment and educational achievement also contain corresponding information on the nation's student population and the households in which they live, including location, age, gender, income, family structure, labor characteristics, disabilities, and other demographic characteristics.

The Census short and long forms provide federal, state, local, and district level educational officials with data benchmarks for evaluating the impact and effectiveness of education policies.

• The decennial census database is also used for a number of critical education functions, including the drawing of school district boundaries, the provision of direct aid to schools with children whose English proficiency is limited, the determination of illiteracy levels among language minorities, profiling the socio-economic conditions of school-age children, and measuring changes in education levels across communities so employers can determine where to locate new jobs;
• There is no comparable comprehensive source of information about the population to assist U.S. Department of Education initiatives.

The comprehensive decennial census data - the basic demographic information compiled through both the short and long forms - is used to help allocate $14 billion a year in education funding (FY 1996).

• The census is used to disperse Title I grants for state educational agencies to improve the education of economically disadvantaged children most at-risk, and to distribute funding for the Rehabilitation Services-Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants program and the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program;
• Other U.S. Department of Education programs that use the data in their allocation formulas and eligibility determinations include: Special Education - Grants for Infants and Families with Disabilities; the Innovative Education Program Strategies; Eisenhower Professional Development State Grants; and Adult Education Grants for Working Americans.

Education is fundamental to virtually every aspect of social and economic opportunity in America. More than ever, educational achievement is linked to economic security and advancement for individuals as well as the nation as a whole. Yet many of the nation's schoolchildren continue to be educated in broken-down schools with over-sized classes.

In an era when America's competitive advantage lies in its ability to leverage the skills and talents of all its people, a well educated nation is essential. As we approach the 21st Century, our commitment to providing our nation's schoolchildren with the resources they deserve is more important than ever. A fair and accurate census is critical to modernizing the nation's schools, and reducing class sizes, with unqualified and putting a qualified teacher in every classroom.