On October 23, the Census Bureau published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) seeking comments on its proposal for a new American Community Survey (ACS) Methods Panel, which is the research platform for testing improvements to the ACS. Importantly, the Methods Panel can also serve as a testbed for the decennial census. The new Methods Panel will run from 2025-2028, with iterative tests possible.

The 60-day comment period ends on December 23, 2024.

On November 4, the Census Bureau published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) outlining plans to test updated decennial census Group Quarters Advanced Contact Operation (GQAC) methods in the 2026 Census Test. In this FRN, the Bureau proposes a plan to rely primarily on electronic (Web-Based) exchange of information to prepare for the Group Quarter (GQ) enumeration, with In-Office and then In-Person contact as back-up methods. The Bureau will determine whether use of a secure Web-Based portal to send and receive information from GQs during the Advance Contact phase will improve data quality and operational efficiency, both for the GQAC and GQ Enumeration operations.

The 60-day comment period ends on December 23, 2024.

On November 5, the Census Bureau published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) presenting a routine request for extension of the American Community Survey (ACS) and Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) under the Paperwork Reduction Act. Agencies must ask for renewed clearance for ongoing surveys and other data collection activities every three years. This FRN offers an important opportunity to build a strong public record in support of maintaining and strengthening the ACS as  the nation’s premier source of demographic, housing, social, and economic data. Learn more about the importance of the ACS here!

There is a 60-day public comment period ending on January 6, 2025.

Use this comment template from The Leadership Conference to draft and submit your own comments!

As part of the Race/Ethnicity Coding Improvement Project, the Census Bureau published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) on November 18 seeking feedback on the proposed race/ethnicity code list that will be used when the combined race/ethnicity question is implemented in the American Community Survey (ACS) and the 2030 Census. The Census Bureau aims to enhance and improve the code list that was used in the 2020 Census and is currently used in the ACS to ensure that detailed race and/or ethnicity responses are accurately coded and tabulated in future data collections.

There is a 90-day public comment period ending on February 18, 2025.