(GEN-24-09) Voluntary Disclosure of Hate Crime Sub-Categories

Publication Date
July 29, 2024
DCL ID
GEN-24-09
Subject
Voluntary Disclosure of Hate Crime Sub-Categories 
Summary
Institutions may provide additional information about hate crimes to members of their campus communities.

Dear Colleague:

In view of heightened concerns about acts of hate on campuses, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) remains committed to tracking information about hate crimes, pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics (Clery Act). Having accurate data enhances the ability of governments, campuses, and communities to effectively respond to acts of hate and ensure that all students are safe on campus.

Toward that end, the Department reminds institutions that they may voluntarily provide information about hate crimes to members of their campus communities, beyond what the Clery Act requires to be reported. Specifically, they may voluntarily provide the sub-categories of persons and groups who were targeted based on their actual or perceived membership in a covered bias category.

Although not required, the Department encourages institutions to consider providing this information to students, employees, and other stakeholders. Specifically, the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ (FBI’s) Hate Crime Statistics Data Collection identifies sub-categories that institutions can use if they choose to voluntarily provide such additional information separate and apart from their obligations under the Clery Act. The list of sub-categories is published in the FBI’s Hate Crime Data Collection Guidelines and Training Manual available online at - https://le.fbi.gov/file-repository/hate-crime-data-collection-guidelines-and-training-manual.pdf/view and included for reference below.

Because institutions already must compile and disclose specified hate crime information under the Clery Act, and because the records generated in the normal course of intaking reports and investigating complaints typically include sub-category information, the Department expects any administrative burdens or costs associated with these additional voluntary disclosures would be minimal. Institutions may disseminate information in a way that will work best for campus community members and the school.

For example, institutions may use electronic mail, text messages, websites, social media, intranet portals, or any other means that are likely to increase awareness and enhance transparency and may do so at regular intervals (weekly, monthly, etc.) to promote awareness over time.

Disclosure of sub-categories for hate crimes is not required under the Clery Act, therefore the Department discourages institutions from using the formal statistical grids that are typically used to disclose crime statistics in its Annual Security Report or in the Department’s annual Campus Safety and Security information collection. Information may be presented in any format that clearly communicates the desired information to students, employees, and other stakeholders in an accurate, complete, and timely manner. A brief narrative may impart this information quickly and more effectively to the widest possible audience than would be conveyed by tabular data.

To further enhance the value of including the sub-categories of persons and groups who were targeted in such updates, institutions may wish to include in each message crime prevention tips and information on available resources, including the FBI’s Hate Crime Threat Response Guide. In addition, institutions may also want to remind students, employees, and other stakeholders that the Department’s Office for Civil Rights offers information regarding federal prohibitions against harassment and other forms of discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin, including shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, sex, and disability.

Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry

  • Anti-American Indian or Alaska Native

  • Anti-Arab

  • Anti-Asian

  • Anti-Black or African American

  • Anti-Hispanic or Latino

  • Anti-Multiple Races, Group

  • Anti-Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

  • Anti-Other Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry

  • Anti-White

Religion

  • Anti-Buddhist

  • Anti-Catholic

  • Anti-Eastern Orthodox (Russian, Greek, Other)

  • Anti-Hindu

  • Anti-Islamic

  • Anti-Jehovah’s Witness

  • Anti-Jewish

  • Anti-Mormon

  • Anti-Multiple Religions, Group

  • Anti-Other Christian

  • Anti-Other Religion

  • Anti-Protestant

  • Anti-Sikh

  • Anti-Atheism/Agnosticism, etc.

Sexual Orientation

  • Anti-Bisexual

  • Anti-Gay (Male)

  • Anti-Heterosexual

  • Anti-Lesbian

  • Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender Mixed Group)

Disability

  • Anti-Mental Disability

  • Anti-Physical Disability

Gender

  • Anti-Male

  • Anti-Female

Gender Identity

  • Anti-Transgender

  • Anti-Gender Non-Conforming

Sincerely,

Nasser H. Paydar
Assistant Secretary
Office of Postsecondary Education