by Meghan Maury

Survey of the Week: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey — Household Component. MEPS collects data on the specific health services that Americans use, how frequently they use them, the cost of these services and how they are paid for, as well as data on the cost, scope, and breadth of health insurance held by and available to U.S. workers. HHS is making a number of changes to the MEPS, including removing questions on birth control, gender, aspirin use, and counseling; adding questions about use of sleep medication, trouble getting to sleep, screen time, use of wearable devices, self-assessed diet quality, fruit and vegetable consumption, meals eaten away from home, former smoking, and weight loss attempts; and making changes to a number of other questions.
Comments due March 2.

Every time the government makes a change to a survey or a form — or introduces a new survey or form — you have the right to weigh in on that decision. The Take Action! newsletter highlights surveys or forms the government is changing, renewing, or introducing. Click the links to tell the government what you think about the changes they are making.

Note: The Take Action tab of dataindex.us provides information about even more surveys, forms, evaluations, and records notices than are listed in your weekly newsletter.

Education

  • National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2027. NAEP is a survey of student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 in various subject areas, such as mathematics, reading, writing, science, U.S. history, and civics. It's unclear from the listing what changes will be made to the 2027 NAEP, especially because according to the listing, the majority of 2027 materials are not yet available. The notice indicates that some materials will be available when the 30-day notice is posted in March 2026; final materials will be posted as an amendment in July 2026.
    Comments due February 18.

Discrimination, Gender Identity, and Race and Ethnicity

  • Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance From the Commission. These forms are used to demonstrate compliance with civil rights statutes and to report instances of discrimination. The forms are being revised to include additional questions to comply with the CHIPS Act requirement to demonstrate a commitment to preventing and handling sex-based and sexual harassment, and when it does occur reduce its impact.
    Comments due January 30.

  • Complaint Involving Employment Discrimination by a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor. This form is used to file complaints of employment discrimination with OFCCP pursuant to Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act. OFCCP is revising the form to remove all language related to EO 11246 bases of discrimination, which include race, national origin, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, discussing pay, inquiring about pay, and disclosing pay. Several people filed public comments in response to an earlier public comment period. OFCCP is not making any changes in response to the public input.
    Comments due February 2.

  • AmeriCorps NCCC Project Sponsor Survey. This survey collects information from organizations that have sponsored an AmeriCorps NCCC team, which construct and rehabilitate low-income housing, respond to natural disasters, clean up streams, help communities develop emergency plans, and address other local needs. According to the listing, CNCS is revising the survey to remove information they "no longer need to collect." While content changes are unclear, earlier this year CNCS published a notice indicating that they were removing questions on gender identity and expression to comply with an Executive Order.
    Comments due February 20.

  • Post Enrollment Data Collection for Job Corps Participants. This survey collects post enrollment outcomes for eligible Job Corps participants. DOL is making several small changes to the form, including removing the option for participants to report that they experienced discrimination because of gender at their job.
    Comments due February 20.

  • Recreation Survey Questions. This survey collects data from visitors at the RB's 240 recreation areas to help Reclamation Board respond to emerging trends; changes in the demographic profile of users; changing values, needs, wants, and desires; and conflicts between user groups. RB is revising this survey to remove questions and response options related to gender identity and to update the race and ethnicity questions to align with the new SPD15 standards.
    Comments due February 23.

Data Sharing

  • DHS and Treasury Data Sharing Agreement. DHS is entering into a data sharing agreement with the Department of Treasury to share data from 17 of its records systems including its personnel, disaster management, visiting student, benefits, and immigrant tracking systems for the purposes of identifying, preventing, or recouping improper payments to an applicant for, or recipient of, Federal funds, including funds disbursed by a state in a state-administered, federally funded program.
    Comments due January 30.

  • National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Registry. This registry collects data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neuron disorders that can be confused with ALS, misdiagnosed as ALS, or progress to ALS. ASTR is updating the registry to remove gender identity-related questions and response options and to allow for optional data sharing with Unite Genomics, a third-party online AI-powered health insights platform.
    Comments due February 20.

This newsletter is made possible by a very generous donation from the Leadership Conference Education Fund.