May 30 -- Through this Request for information (RFI), the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) seeks input from the public to help inform the development of the Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity. Executive Order 14091 on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (February 16, 2023) directed the OSTP National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Equitable Data (SED) to coordinate implementation of recommendations of the Equitable Data Working Group. To address the recommendations relevant to disability, the SED established the Disability Data Interagency Working Group (DDIWG). The DDIWG is tasked with the development and release of a Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity, in order to improve the Federal government's ability to make data-informed policy decisions that advance equity for the disability community. Interested persons and organizations are invited to submit comments on or before July 15, 2024.
Executive Order (E.O.) 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (January 20, 2021) established the Equitable Data Working Group (EDWG) to study existing Federal data collection policies, programs, and capabilities and provide recommendations for increasing data available for measuring equity and representing the diversity of the American people. Subsequently, E.O. 14091 on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government (February 16, 2023) directed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Equitable Data (SED) to coordinate implementation of the recommendations of the EDWG.
To address the recommendations relevant to disability, the SED established the Disability Data Interagency Working Group (DDIWG). The DDIWG is tasked with the development and release of a Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity, in order to improve the Federal Government's ability to make data-informed policy decisions that advance equity for the disability community.
The Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity will:
i. Describe disparities faced by individuals with disabilities that could be better understood through Federal statistics and data collection, such as disparities in health, employment, educational, and other outcomes, or in Federal program participation.
ii. Identify, in coordination with agency staff, Federal data collections where improved disability data collection may be important for advancing the Federal Government's ability to measure disparities facing individuals with disabilities; and
iii. Identify practices for all Federal agencies engaging in disability data collection to follow in order to safeguard privacy, security, and civil rights, including with regard to appropriate and robust practices of consent for the collection of this data and restrictions on its use or transfer.
We invite members of the public to share perspectives on how the DDIWG should address these requirements in the Federal Evidence Agenda on Disability Equity. OSTP seeks responses to one, some, or all of the questions that follow.
Topics and Key Questions:
-- Describing Disparities: In its March 2023 progress report, the Subcommittee on Equitable Data states, “At its core, the principle of equitable data is about disaggregating and analyzing data to identify disparities in federal policies and programs, using levers of the federal government to address those disparities, and then enabling members of the public to hold government accountable.” With this in mind, OSTP seeks response to the following [three] questions . . . .
-- Informing Data Collections and Public Access: Ultimately, individual agencies decide what data to collect and publish through their surveys and forms, taking into account considerations like informed consent, privacy risk, statistical rigor, intended use of the data, budget, burden to respondents, and more. With that in mind, OSTP seeks response to the following [eight] questions . . . .
-- Privacy, Security, and Civil Rights: The EDWG recommended that “. . . as the federal government expands its use of disaggregated demographic data, it must be intentional about when data are collected and shared, as well as how data are protected so as not to exacerbate the vulnerability of members of underserved communities, many of whom face the heightened risk of harm if their privacy is not protected.” Though previous work by the SED has identified how privacy, confidentiality, and civil rights practices apply to other marginalized groups, OSTP seeks input on privacy, confidentiality, and civil rights considerations that are unique to the disability community and/or are experienced differently by individuals with disabilities. Accordingly, OSTP seeks response to the following [four] questions . . . .
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-11838