Bill > S2511

This bill establishes a comprehensive, secure, and privacy-protected postsecondary student data system to be developed and maintained by the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics within four years of enactment. The system aims to evaluate student enrollment, progression, completion, and post-college outcomes while providing transparent, accurate information for students and families, and reducing reporting burdens on higher education institutions. The data system will include student-level data elements such as enrollment status, race, age, gender, program of study, and financial aid status, while explicitly prohibiting the collection of sensitive personal information like health data, discipline records, and political affiliations. The bill establishes a diverse advisory committee to guide the system's development and requires periodic data matches with other federal agencies to track student outcomes like earnings and employment. The collected data will be made publicly available through a user-friendly website that allows comparisons across institutions, with strict protections to prevent identifying individual students. Institutions participating in federal student aid programs will be required to submit requested data, and the bill includes robust provisions to protect student privacy, including prohibitions on using the data for law enforcement, immigration enforcement, or creating federal rankings of institutions. The system is designed to provide valuable insights into higher education while maintaining strict confidentiality and data minimization principles.

Health and Social Services

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2511/all-info