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State Board approves early childhood data system contract after members raise data-sharing questions
Summary
The Nebraska State Board of Education authorized the commissioner to contract for an early childhood integrated data system (ECIDS), after staff said the system would combine existing data and that data-sharing agreements and safeguards would be developed; the motion passed 6–1.
The Nebraska State Board of Education authorized the commissioner on Oct. 3 to contract for services to build an early childhood integrated data system (ECIDS), a project the department says will link data already collected across agencies to improve early childhood program evaluation.
Board member Lisa Schoenhoff pressed staff for specifics on what the system would include and how data would be shared. Schoenhoff said she reviewed material on LR205 and other states’ ECIDS implementations and raised “red flags” about the scope of data collection and interagency sharing, asking whether the system would collect new data or consolidate existing records.
Lane Carr, administrator for the Office of Policy at the Nebraska Department of Education, told the board the ECIDS would not collect new data but would bring together information already gathered by multiple agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for licensed child-care centers, care subsidies and parts of Medicaid; state-run pre-K; Head Start; and IDEA Part C special education records. Carr said the system is intended to improve “efficiency and effectiveness of early childhood programs” and to provide policymakers with evidence on program outcomes.
Carr also said NDE and DHHS plan to use data-sharing agreements reviewed by both agencies’ legal teams and to apply security safeguards similar to those used for K–12 data. He said conversations with DHHS and legislators about LR205 were expected in the fall and that the department anticipated additional committee discussion.
The motion — “to authorize the commissioner to contract for services for the early childhood integrated data systems” — passed on a roll call showing six votes in favor and one against (board member Lisa Schoenhoff). The board’s recorded discussion shows Schoenhoff’s concerns focused on what data fields would be included, who would be able to access consolidated records, and whether any new personally identifying data would be added.
Board minutes attached to the agenda state the contract will be implemented by the Nebraska Department of Education in partnership with DHHS; staff said further action will include drafting data-sharing agreements and clarifying reporting and safeguards. The board did not specify contract dollar amounts or a contractor in its public minutes at this meeting.
The ECIDS vote followed committee reports and other business; the board’s written public comments are available with the electronic meeting materials.
