Asian parents want race categories taken off forms

PLEASANTON >> Lucy Ye said she was puzzled when she registered her kindergarten-aged son for school and learned that she had to indicate what ethnicity of Asian descent he is.

A choice of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Samoan and nine more options appear on California school district registration forms, with no option to opt-out or choose a general “Asian” selection.

Parent Sylvia Tian said her sons are American; they were born in the United States.

The two moms are among a small coalition of Asian parents in Pleasanton who want the subgroup designations to be dropped from the registration forms. For months they have been showing up to school board meetings with signs that read “No Asian sub-grouping to our children!” or “United! Not Divided!”

Officials of the school district and the State Department of Education say it’s the law, a result of 2011’s Assembly Bill 1088, which created a government code (8310.5) that requires school districts to include these Asian subgroups. No other race category requires the subgroups.

The state education department, and school districts, say they use the data to measure how subgroups are performing in school to identify those who may need more help. For example, data may show that students of a certain subgroup may perform better on tests.

The bill states that a general “Asian” or “Pacific Islander” category is too broad because the groups have vast social, educational, health and economic differences.

Ye said she feels uncomfortable that only Asian children are in subgroups. Tian said she understands why the information would be used for say, health services, but thinks using it in education could lead to unfairness and inequality.

Tian said college admission should be based on years of hard work and study, and it would be unfair to consider one’s ethnicity.