Cradle-to-Career System Data Request Process

For both expedited and comprehensive reviews, the Office of Cradle-to-Career Data will work with requestors, as needed, to clarify their research questions, explain which data are available through the Cradle-to-Career System, and ensure that the appropriate level of information is being requested. Once a request is fully developed, the Office will forward it to the appropriate data providers for review, along with a neutral summary that clarifies the nature of the request and its relevance to the Cradle-to-Career System vision and mission.

Documentation will be posted on the Cradle-to-Career System website to provide a list of all requests for data, who made each request, the project abstract, and the status of each request. Data providers will act in good faith to approve requests that are allowable by law. If data providers have questions or concerns about a data request, they will work with the requestor to modify the request. If a data provider denies a request, a rationale will need to be provided, which will be posted on the website.

The proposed process for accessing information on individual students includes several checks and balances to ensure that individual identities will be protected, and that information will only be released in accordance with state and federal laws. For example, all requests for individual-level data must receive IRB approval from the Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects, which is authorized to review education and health data for federal projects and which operates in compliance with the Information Practices Act. Furthermore, all outputs from the data system must be reviewed by a data disclosure specialist to ensure that identities cannot be discerned.

After year one of implementation, the data request process will be reviewed by the Data and Tools Advisory Board, with input from the managing entity and the data providers, to determine if the process could be improved. Each subsequent year, the Data and Tools Advisory Board will review the requests that were approved and denied and will then identify mechanisms that might better foster the fulfillment of appropriate data requests.