Concerns Statewide Longitudinal Data System for Education and Workforce Development.*

This bill establishes New Jersey's State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS), a centralized platform to track education and workforce data across state agencies. It directly affects New Jersey residents by using anonymized data from the Department of Education, Higher Education offices, Labor Department, and other partners to improve workforce policies and education programs. The system will be operated by Rutgers' John J. Heldrich Center under a Governing Board with agency representatives, requiring strict privacy safeguards (like NIST certification) and releasing only aggregated data. The bill mandates $2 million annually in state funding for the system's maintenance and requires an annual report on its use and impact.