Senator Marshall Introduces Bill to Modernize Workforce Data

Washington - U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware), both members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, introduced the bipartisan Reimagining Education and Skills through Unified Longitudinal Talent Systems (RESULTS) Act. This bill modernizes and improves the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) program to encourage connected insights across early childhood, K-12 education, and the workforce. The RESULTS Act will better equip states to understand and respond to potential education and workforce shifts caused by AI and other emerging technologies.

"Artificial intelligence is a tool-not a replacement for the American worker. Whether it's in a doctor's office, on a farm, or in manufacturing, AI can help people work smarter and more efficiently. But if you can't measure it, you can't manage it," Senator Marshall said. "The RESULTS Act gives states better tools to understand how our workforce is changing so we can prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow and keep America's workforce the strongest and most competitive."

"AI presents never-before-seen opportunities for education, and our economy. However, we need access to high-quality data to ensure we're making the best decisions for our communities. Right now, that data is decentralized, making it hard to access, and harder to interpret," said Senator Blunt Rochester. "I'm proud to introduce the RESULTS Act alongside Senator Marshall to empower states to build better data systems that will connect education and employment outcomes, making information more accessible to our communities as emerging technologies change the world we live, learn, and work in."

The RESULTS Act would:

• Modernize the SLDS program to incentivize highly connected state data systems that incorporate early childhood, elementary and secondary education, higher education, workforce and labor market data.  
• Streamline state funding by starting to consolidate the SLDS program and the parallel Workforce Data Quality Initiative (WDQI) at the Department of Labor.
• Expand eligibility of SLDS to include a state's governor as well as a state agency or data governance entity designated by the governor. 
• Improve access to the National Directory of New Hires, a detailed and underutilized source of wage and employment data for directed use to support statutorily required education and workforce performance reporting. 

The RESULTS Act is endorsed by the Advance CTE, Alliance for Learning Innovation, America Forward, Association for Career and Technical Education, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, Credential Engine, Data Quality Campaign, Jobs for the Future, LISC-Kansas City, National Skills Coalition, Results for America, and Rodel.

Click here to read the full text of the legislation.

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