A5802

An Act establishing the State Longitudinal Data System and supplementing chapter 6 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. There is established the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). The SLDS shall serve as the State’s centralized longitudinal data system for education, workforce, and related data collected by State departments, agencies, and other entities. The system shall provide policymakers and other stakeholders with data analysis that improves individual outcomes and informs policy and program decisions.

The SLDS shall be owned by the State, with oversight provided by the SLDS Governing Board established pursuant to section 2 of this act. The SLDS shall be maintained and operated by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, the State University.

b. The purpose of the SLDS shall be to utilize existing administrative data for evidence-based policymaking that, among other public purposes:

(1) enables New Jerseyans to secure and retain employment and receive greater compensation after completing training or postsecondary degrees;

(2) enables New Jerseyans to meet the education and job skill demands of business and industry;

(3) identifies areas of potential workforce gaps, as presented in the annual Teacher Workforce Report;

(4) identifies the effectiveness of support programs that help New Jerseyans enter or return to employment; and

(5) encourages the sharing of data and learning across government entities.

c. The SLDS shall include data provided for the system by:

(1) the Department of Education;

(2) the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education;

(3) the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority;

(4) the Department of Labor and Workforce Development; and

(5) any other State department, agency, or entity that enters into the SLDS as a formal partner or through a pilot project, subject to the approval by the SLDS Governing Board established pursuant to section 2 of this act and the submission of any agreements that may be necessary.

d. The Motor Vehicle Commission shall serve as an intermediary to support confirmation of education and employment data.

2. a. There shall be established a State Longitudinal Data System Governing Board (SLDS Governing Board), which shall be comprised of, at a minimum:

(1) the Commissioner of Education, or a designee;

(2) the Secretary of Higher Education, or a designee;

(3) the Executive Director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, or a designee;

(4) the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, or a designee; and

(5) the Executive Director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, the State University, who shall serve as a non-voting, ex-officio member.

b. Members representing additional State departments, agencies, or entities that elect to participate in the SLDS as a formal partner or through a pilot program may be appointed to the governing board, subject to the approval of the board and the submission of all necessary agreements.

3. It shall be the responsibility of the governing board to:

a. identify critical research and policy questions that need to be addressed by the State’s education and workforce programs;

b. identify reports and other information that should be available to education and workforce entities and other public stakeholders;

c. develop a data sharing agreement to be entered into by all partner departments, agencies, or entities of the SLDS. The data sharing agreement shall determine the terms under which the departments, agencies, and entities share their data while adhering to all applicable federal and State laws. The agreement shall require the environments and databases housing SLDS data be separated appropriately and structured to ensure security and compliance with the "Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974," (20 U.S.C. s.1232g), and other federal laws and guidelines, along with State requirements related to the storage of sensitive data elements and any shared data. The agreement shall require certification by the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST);

d. adopt a data access and use policy that establishes the rules for governing access, use, and re-disclosure of de-identified data collected, stored, and maintained by the SLDS. The policy shall ensure that only aggregate-level data is released from SLDS;

e. adopt acceptable use guidelines to ensure the privacy of all individuals. Data access shall only be permitted to approved researchers working on approved projects and in accordance with State and federal laws and regulations; and

f. perform other advisory functions that are necessary for the successful continuation and management of the SLDS.

4. Nothing in this act shall be construed to hinder, or otherwise prevent, an individual State department, agency, or entity from maintaining control of their data.

5. The governing board established pursuant to section 2 of this act shall submit an annual report to the Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of of P.L.1991, c.164 (C.52:14-19.1). The report shall contain information on the implementation and use of the SLDS and any recommendations on the need to continue, expand, or modify the operations of the system.

6. The Legislature shall annually appropriate $2,000,000 to the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to support the infrastructure and maintenance of the SLDS.

7. The Department of Education shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of this act.

8. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill establishes the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS). The SLDS is to serve as the State’s centralized longitudinal data system for education, workforce, and related data collected by State departments, agencies, and other entities. The system is to provide policymakers and other stakeholders with data analysis that improves individual outcomes and informs policy and program decisions.

Under the bill, the SLDS is to be owned by the State, with oversight provided by the SLDS Governing Board established by the bill. The SLDS is to be maintained and operated by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, the State University.

The purpose of the SLDS is to utilize existing administrative data for evidence-based policymaking that, among other public purposes:

(1) enables New Jerseyans to secure and retain employment and receive better pay after completing training or postsecondary degrees;

(2) enables New Jerseyans to meet the education and job skill demands of business and industry;

(3) identifies areas of potential workforce gaps, as presented in the annual Teacher Workforce Report;

(4) identifies the effectiveness of support programs that help New Jerseyans enter or return to employment; and

(5) encourages the sharing of data and learning across government entities.

The bill provides that the SLDS is to include data provided for the system by: the Department of Education; the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education; the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority; the Department of Labor and Workforce Development; and any other State department, agency, or entity that enters into the SLDS as a formal partner or through a pilot project, subject to the approval by the SLDS Governing Board and the submission of all necessary agreements. The bill provides that the Motor Vehicle Commission is to serve as an intermediary to support data linkage across agencies.

The bill establishes the SLDS Governing Board. Membership on the board is to be comprised of, at a minimum:

(1) the Commissioner of Education, or a designee;

(2) the Secretary of Higher Education, or a designee;

(3) the Executive Director of the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority, or a designee;

(4) the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, or a designee; and

(5) the Executive Director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, the State University, who is to serve as a non-voting, ex-officio member.

Members representing additional State departments, agencies, or entities that elect to participate in the SLDS as a formal partner or through a pilot program may be appointed to the governing board, subject to the approval of the board and the submission of all agreements that may be necessary.

The responsibilities of the governing board are to:

· identify critical research and policy questions that need to be addressed by the State’s education and workforce programs;

· identify reports and other information that should be available to education and workforce entities and other public stakeholders;

· develop a data sharing agreement to be entered into by all partner departments, agencies, or entities of the SLDS;

· adopt a data access and use policy;

· adopt acceptable use guidelines to ensure the privacy of all individuals; and

· perform other advisory functions that are necessary for the successful continuation and management of the SLDS.

The bill clarifies that nothing in the bill is to be construed to hinder, or otherwise prevent, an individual State department, agency, or entity from maintaining control of their data.

The bill directs the governing board to submit an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature.

Finally, the bill directs the Legislature to annually appropriate $2,000,000 to the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development to support the infrastructure and maintenance of the SLDS.

The sponsor notes that the SLDS will be based on an existing system and continue to be housed and maintained by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University. The agencies participating in the current system have worked collaboratively to establish the operational system and secure funding from several federal opportunities to expand and enhance the capacity of the State’s existing technology infrastructure for the purposes of developing the data system. The system will continue to be NIST-certified and follow rigorous data security guidelines, with only aggregate-level data released from the secure environment.