Multiracial Students

The racial and ethnic fabric of the United States is changing. Those changes are reflected in the U.S. Census and demonstrate the fluidity of racial classification over time. The option to identify oneself as [Page 493]belonging to one or more racial groups was included in the U.S. census for the first time in 2000. Approximately 6.8 million people identified with more than one racial category in the 2000 Census. The most commonly selected multiple racial categories were white and Native American. Of this multiracial group, over 2.8 million were children and youth under the age of 18. This school-age population of youth will join a growing demographic group that is expected to be a majority-minority of students in schools and postsecondary institutions in the United ...