October 2024

On October 10, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the final rule for the Fundamental Responsibilities of Recognized Statistical Agencies and Units, also known as the “Trust Regulation.” The rule is intended to promote public trust of federal statistics as a key component of the Foundations for Evidence-based Policymaking Act (“Evidence Act”). The Evidence Act codified Statistical Policy Directive Number 1, and included a provision to develop regulations that enable statistical agencies to carry out their work.

The rule provides guidance for statistical agencies to meet their four fundamental responsibilities: to produce and disseminate relevant and timely statistical information; to conduct credible and accurate statistical activities; to carry out objective statistical activities; and to protect the trust of respondents and information providers by ensuring the confidentiality and exclusive statistical use of their responses.

The final rule also includes requirements for the federal agencies within which federal statistical agencies are located to ensure that statistical agencies carry out these responsibilities. Several key components of the final rule include:

• ensuring statistical agencies and units have their own websites
• establishing opportunities for statistical agencies and units to participate in discussions with OMB regarding their own budget requests
• developing compliance review requirements to promote compliance with the proposed rule's provisions
• requiring further engagement and consultation across statistical agencies and units to better identify where duplication is occurring and to address it where found

“We applaud the Chief Statistician for releasing these final regulations,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “This rule will help ensure that federal statistical agencies have the support and autonomy they need to carry out their fundamental responsibilities. For agencies, including the National Center for Education Statistics, explicit regulations are a significant sea change.”

AERA provided input on the proposed rule in October 2023.