Data Quality Campaign analysis shows state legislators across the country continued to advance policies that prioritize secure, actionable data.
WASHINGTON (August 26, 2025) – In 2025, legislators from both sides of the aisle introduced and championed hundreds of bills aimed at ensuring that individuals—students, families, and workers—can access the secure, timely information they need as they navigate their unique journeys through education and the workforce. The Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) latest report, Education and Workforce Data Legislation: What Happened in 2025?, details DQC’s analysis of state legislative trends and serves as a roadmap for policymakers and advocates eager to build robust data ecosystems in their own states. As the federal and state data policy environments evolve, the need for trustworthy, transparent data remains constant. State policymakers must continue to lead the way, ensuring that every individual has the information necessary to make informed decisions and chart their own path forward.
“Data is more than numbers on a page—it should answer people’s questions and help them make education and career decisions,” said DQC President and CEO Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger. “By advancing legislation to codify cross-agency data governance, safeguard privacy, and connect data to better understand education to workforce outcomes, states are ensuring that people have the information they need to navigate their futures with confidence.”
This year, state lawmakers took steps to establish clear and accountable governance structures, create meaningful opportunities to build trust, and enact comprehensive privacy protections. Trust in data is not automatic—it must be earned and maintained through thoughtful design choices and transparent policies. Together, these elements lay the groundwork for systems that people can rely on to support their education and career goals.
- Kansas, Massachusetts, and Oklahoma introduced legislation to establish or codify cross-agency data governance—the most important step toward building trustworthy, sustainable data systems. By codifying cross-agency governance in law, states create the structure needed for agency leaders to make decisions together in the sunshine—protecting privacy, building public trust, and maximizing the impact of investments in data.
- California and Connecticut took important steps to strengthen public trust in education and workforce data by advancing privacy protections that clarify how data can—and cannot—be used. These efforts underscore that privacy and access go hand in hand: strong, clear safeguards enable students, families, and educators to use data with confidence.
Legislators also continued to pass laws to reduce barriers between high school, college, and career. Right now, too many students and workers cannot weigh all their options side by side to decide what’s right for them. At the same time, policymakers need access to outcomes data to evaluate whether education and training programs are delivering real value. By using data in innovative ways, states can support informed decisionmaking, strengthen college and career pathways, and improve economic mobility.
- Arkansas, Illinois, Oregon, and Texas established or expanded streamlined admissions processes. These efforts reflect a people-first approach to state data systems: giving students and families the tools they need to compare options, understand outcomes, and move forward—all in one place.
- Georgia, Indiana, and Louisiana passed or enacted legislation to connect education and training data with labor market outcomes so that individuals can pursue the credentials that they know lead to high-quality jobs.
- Hawaii took important steps to help state legislators more confidently align education investments with labor market needs by authorizing the integration of wage records and tax data into its statewide longitudinal data system.
Two states took significant steps to provide families and communities with more information on early child care and education options. Families with young children rely on many programs to support their children’s healthy development, but limited access to information about those programs makes navigating these systems difficult. Illinois and Texas passed laws to develop an early childhood integrated data system. These systems not only reduce burdens on families but also help state leaders identify gaps and target resources more effectively.
“States across the country recognize the value of building secure, trustworthy data systems that connect data from early childhood through the workforce,” said Bell-Ellwanger. “State legislators must continue to lead in the midst of an uncertain federal data landscape to ensure every student, family, and worker has the information they need to make informed decisions and chart their own path forward.”
For more information, visit DQC’s website.
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The Data Quality Campaign is a nonprofit policy and advocacy organization leading the effort to ensure that data works for everyone navigating their education and workforce journeys. For more information, go to dataqualitycampaign.org and follow us on LinkedIn.
