ERC advisory board approves multiple data requests and 15 research proposals with targeted amendments

The ERC advisory board met online on Nov. 20, 2025, and approved routine minutes and a consent calendar before taking up a slate of data and research project requests. The board approved a series of data‑access extensions and 15 research proposals covering topics from school suspensions and restorative practices to college credit access, student loan behavior and evaluations of workforce and higher‑education funding programs.

The meeting began with roll call and troubleshooting of audio problems that briefly delayed oral confirmations of presence. The chair moved quickly to business, noting that no members of the public were registered for testimony. The board approved the minutes from a special‑called Nov. 20 meeting and then approved the consent calendar, which included numerous extension items listed on the agenda.

A pivotal technical change came during discussion of a data request that originally asked for ZIP‑code fields. Board members raised privacy concerns and treated ZIP codes as potentially identifiable information. The requester confirmed their project could proceed without ZIP codes; the board amended the motion to remove the ZIP‑code request and approved the data access with that amendment.

Several proposals prompted substantive Q&A before approval. Presenters were asked to clarify outcome measures and the statutory or program link required for FERPA exceptions: for example, the restorative‑practices suspension study was asked to make explicit the short‑ and long‑term outcomes it would measure and to tighten the FERPA audit‑and‑evaluation justification. Researchers proposing higher‑education linkages were asked to specify the sectors they intended to include from THECB/CBM files (2‑year, 4‑year, technical/CTC), and one project was asked to correct requested date ranges for faculty reports; those amendments were accepted and motions carried.

Other topic highlights: a proposal to study the short‑ and long‑term effects of school shootings on the teacher pipeline emphasized that supplemental incident data would be merged at the school level only (no individual incident PII); a student‑loan forgiveness project requested THECB and Texas Workforce Commission linkages and board members queried whether NAICS/industry codes would allow clean identification of public‑service careers; and a curriculum evaluation for an organization called SKU The Script described College Board data access progress and next steps for data‑sharing agreements.

Most motions passed unanimously or by voice vote; the board repeatedly approved items "with amendments" that clarified dates, data fields or FERPA language. The meeting closed after the board voted to reopen a specific data request (UTD192) to expand the CBM faculty file years requested, then adjourned.

The board asked staff to work with researchers on drafting the amended language where needed (for FERPA exceptions, data‑dictionary details, and THECB/CBM sector descriptions). Next steps for several proposals include finalizing remote‑access forms, updated data‑sharing agreements (for example, College Board/TEA and THECB/TWC linkages) and submission of any follow‑up data requests the researchers said they would file.

What changed: the board explicitly removed ZIP codes from at least one dataset request; approved an amended date range for at least one extension; and asked multiple proposers to add clarity about outcome measures and FERPA justifications before their final remote‑access paperwork is completed. The advisory board adjourned after completing the agenda.