EMA Gender and Ethnicity Data Updates: How We Support Your Goals

New Enhancements to Support a Diverse and Inclusive Community Effective August 1, 2022

EMA is committed to creating an inclusive community for our members, families, and students.

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To support this goal, we are excited to announce that EMA has enhanced how we collect data on our platforms. Starting on August 1, 2022, families and students can now select expanded options for non-binary gender, race, and ethnicity. These changes are a continuation of a mindful integration that began with last year's introduction of the Mx. prefix options.

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After receiving guidance from outside experts, EMA aligned with U.S. Census and National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) standards for the collection of the data to improve consistency with national standards.
 
We also worked closely with the enrollment management software providers that integrate with EMA products to understand their requirements and ensure they will be prepared to adopt our new data fields. Through these steps, we aim to ensure our schools receive more comprehensive data to support their needs. Whether schools receive the data from the integration partners or the EMA Member Access Portal, all can obtain the new data in the PDF and CSV files accurately and consistently.

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Parents and students can now share more specific demographic information with schools when
creating their account on the EMA family portal using the following new and updated fields:
● Parent and Student Pronouns
● Gender
● Sex at Birth
● Race
● Ethnicity
● First Language
● Faith-Based Affiliations
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The newly expanded options also will enable families to self-select their school-gender preferences and feel better represented in SAO applications, SSAT and Snapshot reporting, and the Student Prospect List.

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