2020 Ed Data Legislation Addresses Diverse Set of Education Priorities

DQC's annual review of education data legislation is well under way! So far, we are reading and analyzing more than 120 education data bills in 28 states, with many more to come.

Policymakers are considering bills that improve data quality, promote transparency, build longitudinal data systems to answer critical questions about student pathways, and ensure that students and those closest to students have the data they need to make decisions.

Here's how state legislators are considering education data this session: 
 

Giving high school students information about postsecondary pathways. Legislators in Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have introduced versions of the Right to Know Act, which would put information about these pathways, as well as real workforce outcomes, in the hands of students while they are in high school, so they are empowered to make decisions about their future. Read and share DQC President and CEO Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger's op-ed in The 74.
 

Building statewide P–20W data systems to better understand student pathways over time. Legislators in New Jersey and Nebraska have introduced bills with the aim of creating statewide P–20W data systems—data systems that securely bring together specific data from across the early childhood, K–12, postsecondary, and workforce sectors. And, California is currently implementing a similar bill to create a P–20W data system that policymakers there passed last year. Read and share DQC Director of Policy and Research Strategy Rachel Anderson's blog post.
 

Stay tuned throughout this year as we continue to share updates and analysis of education data legislation from the 2020 session! In the meantime, check out our 2019 analysis of state legislative activity.