Hundreds of bills aimed at ensuring that students, families and policymakers have access to the secure, timely information needed to navigate and understand education systems and the workforce were introduced across the country in 2025, according to Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) latest report, Education and Workforce Data Legislation: What Happened in 2025?.
As the federal data policy environment dissolves, the need for trustworthy, transparent data remains constant, and state policymakers must continue to lead the way by ensuring they and other stakeholders have access to the information necessary to chart their own path forward through school and work with confidence.
The analysis shows that states across the country recognize the value of building secure, trustworthy data systems that connect data from early childhood through the workforce, said Jennifer Bell-Ellwanger, DQC president and CEO.
“Data is more than numbers on a page — it should answer people’s questions and help them make education and career decisions,” Bell-Ellwanger said. “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. 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.”
Policy trends
The report highlights several legislative themes that show growing momentum toward building state data systems that are transparent, connected and centered on the information stakeholders need. Promising trends detailed include states:
- Taking steps to strengthen privacy protections, establishing clear cross-agency governance and creating transparent systems that people can rely on;
- Reducing barriers between high school and postsecondary education by expanding direct admissions programs, creating centralized platforms and using data to connect students to opportunities proactively;
- Linking education and labor market data, strengthening credential tracking and modernizing workforce data systems to provide better insights into career pathways to ensure policymakers can measure the return on investment of programs and connect training to in-demand jobs; and
- Consolidating early childhood data into integrated systems that provide families with clear, accessible information while reducing burdens on providers and improving decision-making for policymakers.
California
Researchers noted that people won’t use data they don’t trust, and trust must be “earned and maintained through thoughtful design choices and transparent policies.”
California was among several states cited as having taken steps in 2025 “to establish clear and accountable governance structures; create meaningful opportunities to build trust; and enact strong, comprehensive privacy protections,” which together lay the groundwork for systems that people can rely on to support their education and career goals.
Specifically, lawmakers introduced Assembly Bill 1159, which sought to ban the use of student information for commercial artificial intelligence training and extend privacy rights to postsecondary students under the state’s existing framework.
State leaders also introduced the Financial Assistance for Students Experiencing Homelessness Pilot Program, which would require the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC) to enter into a data-sharing agreement with the California Department of Education to identify students who have experienced homelessness so that their postsecondary institutions can offer them additional support.
Additionally, while the bill is currently in the suspense file, the report also highlights the introduction of Senate Bill 761, which would expand access to CalFresh — the federally funded food assistance program — for college students. Specifically, the bill would require CSAC and the Department of Social Services to use the state’s Grant Delivery System to identify potentially eligible students, which is a data-centered approach; mandate interagency data-sharing agreements; and require public colleges to contribute relevant data to streamline eligibility determinations and enable direct outreach to students with their consent.
