Three State Legislative Actions We’re Watching For in 2025 and Resources to Guide the Way

In recent years, policymakers nationwide have made meaningful progress in helping students successfully transition from high school to postsecondary education and the workforce. However, more needs to be done to provide students and families with clear information and tools to support their education and career journeys. Last year brought notable advances—legislators continued to introduce and enact legislation governing cross-agency data systems, the most important step toward making statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDSs) more accessible and useful for people. Leaders also passed legislation aimed at leveraging linked data to create smoother transitions from high school to college and the workforce, ensuring students’ journeys are better supported. 

In 2025, we hope to see states build on this progress by continuing to codify and establish cross-agency data governance, easing transitions between high school and postsecondary pathways, and supporting innovation in K–12 systems. Below, we’ve included resources that legislators and advocates can use to guide their efforts towards these goals.

1. Codify Cross-Agency Data Governance

When it comes to data, when everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. Codifying cross-agency data governance in law is the best way to ensure agency leaders, legislators, and members of the public can come together to make decisions about how data is collected and used—in the sunshine. Over the past 5 years we have seen five states (California, Alabama, Montana, Rhode Island, Colorado) pass laws taking this step, bringing the national total to nine.

So far this legislative session we are already seeing promising steps toward cross-agency data governance legislation in Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Legislators in Massachusetts reintroduced a bill from 2023 that would establish the Massachusetts Education-to-Career Data Center under the governance of a 15-member board. In Oklahoma, SB 224 would create the Oklahoma Education and Workforce Statewide Longitudinal Data System, also governed by an independent board, with the purpose of enhancing educational and workforce outcomes in the state. Lastly, in Virginia, HB2465 would establish the Virginia Education and Workforce Data Governing Board to oversee the state’s education through workforce data ecosystem. 

We hope to see more states take this critical step. Building resilient governance structures is essential to making SLDSs more effective and ensuring that data systems meet the needs of all users.

Resources: 

1. Investing in California’s Data Future: How California’s P–20W Cradle-to-Career Data System Could Take the State from Last to First: This brief from DQC highlights the potential of California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System to revolutionize how education and workforce data is connected, offering a roadmap for other states to enhance transparency, improve equity, and drive better outcomes. 
2. The Art of the Possible: Data Governance Lessons Learned from Kentucky, Maryland, and Washington: This DQC resource showcases cross-agency data governance practices in Kentucky, Maryland, and Washington, offering insights and lessons for creating sustainable, high-quality data governance structures to improve student outcomes.
3. State Recommendations to Support Data Access: This set of recommendations from DQC includes policy and practice steps that states must take to ensure SLDSs are designed to enable data access—the first of which is to codify cross-agency data governance. 
4. Model SLDS Policy that Establishes Cross-Agency Data Governance: This resource from All4Ed outlines a comprehensive policy framework for SLDSs which emphasizes the importance of cross-agency collaboration and governance structures.
5. State Longitudinal Data Systems Are Worth the Legislative Investment to Connect Workforce and Education: This report from the George W. Bush Presidential Center demonstrates the critical role SLDSs play in bridging gaps between education and workforce systems, showcasing how legislative investments can yield long-term benefits for state economies and career pathways.

2. Promote College and Career Readiness and Ease Transitions Between High School and Postsecondary Pathways

Students and families need access to timely and relevant information to make informed decisions about life after high school. Legislation can play a critical role in smoothing these transitions by ensuring students and families have clear information about education costs, outcomes, and career opportunities.

In 2025, we hope to see legislators build on these efforts, providing students and families with the tools and support they need to navigate their education and career pathways seamlessly.

Resources: 

1. Families Deserve Meaningful Access to Data: This DQC resource emphasizes the necessity for families to have timely, specific, and comprehensible data to support their children’s educational and career decisions, highlighting the current challenges families face in accessing such information.
2. Counselors Need Better Data. Students Depend on It: This DQC blog post discusses how providing school counselors with comprehensive and accessible data enables them to effectively guide students, address inequities, and support informed decisions regarding students’ educational and career trajectories.
3. Clear Career Pathways Require Connected Data: This DQC infographic illustrates the importance of modernizing P–20W data systems to offer transparent and easily understandable information about available credentials and their associated outcomes, aiding individuals in making informed career preparation decisions.
4. Texas HB 8 (2023): This law mandates that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board provide comparative information about institutions of higher education, including data on costs, student outcomes, and employment rates.
5. Indiana SB 8 (2024): This law requires all high schools to offer Indiana College Core courses, enabling students to earn transferable college credits and mandating colleges to offer three-year bachelor’s degree programs. Additionally, it requires the state to provide online access to this curriculum and maintain an updated list of eligible courses with syllabi and descriptions.

3. Support Innovation in K–12 Systems

Continued innovation is essential to strengthening K-12 systems and preparing students for success in their next steps. Effective K–12 data systems equip educators with the tools to provide personalized support and help students stay on track academically. Yet, education leaders often face challenges accessing timely, actionable data that addresses students’ needs. 

In 2025, states should focus on advancing K–12 innovations that support student progress, enhance teacher preparation, and ensure all students are ready for postsecondary opportunities.

Resources: 

1. Use Case: Connect School and District Leaders to the Information They Need to Ensure That Their Students Thrive: This use case from DQC highlights the importance of providing school and district leaders with timely and actionable data, enabling them to make informed decisions that support student success and well-being.
2. Using Data to Advance Education Equity: ​​This DQC resource explores how education leaders can utilize data to identify and address disparities, ensuring that all students have equitable access to high-quality education and opportunities.
3. On-Track Indicators: A Powerful Data-Based Tool for Action: This DQC resource examines the use of on-track indicators to monitor student progress, allowing educators to identify at-risk students early and implement interventions to keep them on the path to graduation.

As states enter their 2025 legislative sessions, DQC will continue to monitor, analyze, and elevate promising policies that improve education and workforce outcomes. Ensuring that data systems are accessible and effective requires collaboration across agencies and sustained investment in cross-agency data governance, pathways, and innovation. States can make meaningful progress toward ensuring all people have access to the information they need to succeed.