U.S. Census Bureau Will Refrain from Asking New Disability Questions for Two Years

The U.S. Census Bureau faced backlash from the disability community earlier this year when it proposed to change the questions that ask about disability. The rewording of those questions could have led to an undercounting of individuals with disabilities. After meeting with disability advocates, the Census Bureau announced it would not make any changes to the disability questions it uses in its American Community Survey for either 2025 or 2026.

The reversal in policy is seen as a testament to the advocacy from the disability community that led to a commitment from the Director of the Census Bureau, Robert Santos, not to make any additional changes to the disability questions “without continued engagement with and input from the disability community.”