Requires development of longitudinal data system that maintains individuals' data from preschool through entry into workforce.

A1101

ASSEMBLY, No. 1101

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JOE DANIELSEN

District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires development of longitudinal data system that
maintains individuals' data from preschool through entry into workforce.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act

requiring the establishment of a Statewide
longitudinal data system and supplementing chapter 3B of Title 18A of the New
Jersey Statutes.

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

���� 1.��� The Secretary of Higher
Education, the

Commissioner of Education, and the Commissioner of Labor and
Workforce Development shall jointly establish a P-20 Longitudinal Data System Working
Group.� The purpose of the working group shall be to develop a student-level
longitudinal data system established pursuant to section 2 of this act.� The working
group shall determine the following matters:

���� a.���� the data elements to be
maintained in the longitudinal data system;

���� b.��� the process by which
entities will submit information to the data system;

���� c.���� the measures to be
taken to ensure that all data in the longitudinal data system are secure and
that individuals� privacy is not compromised;

���� d.��� the development of
analytic reports that will be created using information stored in the
longitudinal data system; and

���� e.���� the feasibility of
collecting postsecondary education and employment data for inclusion in the
longitudinal data system of individuals who graduated from a public secondary
school in the State and subsequently moved out-of-State.

���� 2.��� a.� No later than the
beginning of the first full academic year following the effective date of this
act, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, the Department of
Education, and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development shall enter
into a memorandum of understanding to develop a longitudinal data system that
will connect data records for individuals enrolled in State-funded preschool
programs, public elementary and secondary schools, institutions of higher
education located in the State, and employed in the State.� At their
discretion, the data system established pursuant to this section shall be
capable of the following:

���� (1)�� reducing, to the maximum
extent possible, the data collection burden on school districts and
institutions of higher education by using data submitted to the longitudinal
data system for multiple reporting and analysis functions;

���� (2)�� providing authorized
officials with access to individual-level data, summary reports, and data that
may be integrated with additional data maintained outside of the longitudinal
data system to inform education decision-making;

���� (3)�� enhancing existing
school-to-postsecondary reporting systems to inform school district officials,
policymakers, and the public about public school students� performance in
postsecondary institutions of higher education;

���� (4)�� improving student access
to postsecondary educational opportunities by linking student data to college
and career planning tools to facilitate the submission of transcript data and
enabling the transfer of student records to officials of an institution of
higher education to which a student seeks enrollment;

���� (5)�� establishing a
publicly-available Internet website that provides reports of data that are not
confidential; and

���� (6)�� providing research and
reports on the effectiveness of specific programs and initiatives.

���� �b.�� The longitudinal data
system established pursuant to this section may include, but need not be
limited to, the following data elements:

���� (1)�� a unique identifier,
other than an individual�s social security number or derived from an
individual�s social security number, that allows for the merging of an
individual�s data as the individual progresses through elementary, secondary,
and postsecondary education and employment;

���� (2)�� individual-level
enrollment, demographic, and program participation data;

���� (3)�� performance on each
State assessment and reasons why an individual did not participate in a State
assessment;

���� (4)�� individual-level
transcript information;

���� (5)�� information regarding an
individual�s status as a graduate or a dropout of a secondary or postsecondary
institution; and

���� (6)�� an individual�s
quarterly earnings when the individual is no longer enrolled in an educational
institution.

���� �c.��� The longitudinal data
system shall be operational no later than the beginning of the second full
academic year following the effective date of this act.

���� 3.��� Each public institution
of higher education shall submit the required data elements to the longitudinal
data system in a manner to be determined by the Secretary of Higher Education.�
The secretary shall allow an independent institution of higher education to
submit data elements to the longitudinal data system, and independent
institutions of higher education are encouraged to do so.

���� 4.��� The working group
established pursuant to section 1 of this act shall submit a report to the
Governor, and to the Legislature pursuant to section 2 of P.L.1991, c.164
(C.52:14-19.1). The report shall �contain �information on �the implementation
and effectiveness

of the longitudinal data system,
and on the need for State funds to continue, expand, or modify the operations
of the longitudinal data system.

���� 5.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

����� This bill requires the development of a Statewide
longitudinal data system that is capable of retaining individual-level
information. The data records would include information starting when an
individual enrolls in a public school, and would continue as the individual
enters the workforce.

����� Under the bill, the Secretary of Higher Education,
the Commissioner of Education, and the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce
Development will jointly establish a P-20 Longitudinal Data System Working
Group. The working group will determine:

�

the data
elements to be maintained in the longitudinal data system;

�

the process by
which entities will submit information to the data system;

�

the measures to
be taken to ensure that all data in the longitudinal data system are secure and
that individuals� privacy is not compromised;

�

the development
of analytic reports that will be created using information stored in the
longitudinal data system; and

�

the feasibility
of collecting postsecondary education and employment data for inclusion in the
longitudinal data system of individuals who graduated from a public secondary
school in the State and subsequently moved out-of-State.

����� The bill requires that the Office of the Secretary of
Higher Education, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor and
Workforce Development enter into a memorandum of understanding no later than
the beginning of the first full academic year following the bill�s effective
date to develop the longitudinal data system. The system would be operational
by the beginning of the second full academic year following the bill�s
effective date.