In July, the NAEd, along with other education associations, urged the U.S. Department of Education to take immediate action to institute the 2025-26 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC). These data are crucial for understanding student experiences and educational opportunities across race, national origin, gender, disability status, and other key demographics. The research community, school districts, and families all rely on the CRDC to support student access and participation in curricula and programs, educational outcomes, and other levers of educational opportunity that are used for continuous improvement and evaluation purposes.

The U.S. Department of Education is now taking action to finalize the CRDC for the 2025–26 school year and to prepare for the 2027–28 school year collection. On August 7, the Department of Education placed a notice for comment in the federal register. Comments are due by September 8, 2025. We encourage you to review the notice for comment, the attachments, and provide your comments.