(a) There is hereby established in state government the California Cradle-to-Career Data System for the purpose of connecting individuals and organizations to trusted information and resources. The data system shall be considered a source for actionable data and research on education, economic, and health outcomes for individuals, families, and communities, and provide for expanded access to tools and services that support the navigation of the education-to-employment pipeline.
(b) (1) The data system shall be used to provide access to data and information necessary to provide insights into critical milestones in the education-to-employment pipeline, including insight regarding early learning and care to grade 12, inclusive, and into higher education, skills training opportunities, and employment to better enable individuals to maximize their educational and career opportunities, and to foster evidence-based decisionmaking to help the state build a more equitable future.
(2) The information contained in the data system shall be used to accomplish all of the following:
(A) Address disparities in opportunities and outcomes.
(B) Support student guidance.
(C) Foster continuous improvement.
(D) Address the needs of researchers.
(c) The data system shall do all of the following:
(1) Enable the linkage, management, and monitoring of information on student progress through education, workforce training, employment, health, and social services.
(2) Ensure that information contained, and available through, the data system is kept secure and that individual privacy is protected.
(3) Provide for access to actionable data on education, economic, and health outcomes for use by individuals, students, families, and communities to, among other things, illustrate inequities in opportunities and outcomes.
(4) Provide support for professional development opportunities to further policy making and to improve the functionality of the system by end users, including state agencies, schools, colleges and universities, social service providers, and students and families.
(5) Provide support for opportunities to enhance the state’s system of public education, educational programs, and educational services.
(6) Advance academic, nonprofit, and governmental research to enhance the development of policies focused on birth through career.
(7) Support the creation of user-facing tools and services, and access to information necessary to do all of the following:
(A) Provide tailored supports to students, educators, parents, and advisors, and better enable students to navigate the education-to-employment pipeline.
(B) Enable the streamlining and administration of college application processes and student financial aid programs.
(C) Allow researchers and policymakers to explore policy problems and solutions.
(d) At all times, the data system shall act in furtherance of the public good and shall be held accountable thereto.
(e) The planning of the data system shall be subject to the Project Approval Lifecycle of the Department of Technology, pursuant to Section 4819.35 of the State Administrative Manual and all other relevant sections. The development and implementation of the data system shall be subject to the reporting and oversight requirements of the Department of Technology, pursuant to Section 4819.36 of the State Administrative Manual and all other relevant sections. The planning, development, and implementation of any additions to, or revisions of, the data system shall also be subject to these requirements.
(f) At all times, the data system shall comply with federal and state laws to protect individual privacy, including, but not necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(1) The federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-280, as amended).
(2) The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-191, as amended).
(3) The federal Higher Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-329, as amended).
(4) The federal Privacy Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-579, as amended).
(g) Any data maintained under this article that meets the definition of personal information, as defined in Section 1798.3 of the Civil Code, shall not be used or disclosed except for purposes consistent with this article. Whether or not it is protected under applicable federal or state law, personal information managed under this article shall be deidentified before being released to the public.
(h) (1) All of the following rights in the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code) do not apply to records or source data from the P20W data set that are maintained under this article:
(A) The individual right to inquire and be notified as to whether the data system maintains a record about that individual, as provided in Section 1798.32 of the Civil Code.
(B) The individual right to inspect personal information in any record maintained in the data system, as provided in Section 1798.34 of the Civil Code.
(C) The individual right to request to amend any record maintained in the data system, as provided in Section 1798.35 of the Civil Code.
(2) In the event of a “security incident,” as defined in the participation agreement, the managing entity shall comply with the requirements of Section 1798.29 of the Civil Code.
(3) This subdivision does not affect an individual’s right to request to amend a record maintained by a data provider of record. To assist individuals who wish to exercise such rights, as applicable, the managing entity shall include on its internet website, a link to the contact information of a data provider’s privacy officer and, when applicable, a link to the relevant privacy web form maintained by the data provider.
(Amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 736, Sec. 3. (AB 2723) Effective September 27, 2024.)