Data for the People (D4TP): A Movement to Democratize Access to Data
Advocating for stronger, more connected education and workforce data systems so students, families, advocates, and policymakers have the information needed to expand opportunity and drive equitable outcomes.
Why Data for the People Matters
California cannot improve what it cannot see. When education and workforce data systems operate in silos, it becomes difficult to understand whether students are successfully progressing from school to college and into meaningful careers. Better-connected data systems help advocates, policymakers, and communities identify inequities, hold institutions accountable, and make informed decisions that expand opportunity for students who have historically been underserved.
Data should work for students, families, and communities—not just institutions.
Data for the People (D4TP) is an EdTrust-West initiative working to connect California’s education and workforce data systems so they tell the full story of student progress—from early learning through career.
- Accessible & Transparent: Empowering advocates and decision-makers to identify inequities.
- Actionable & Connected: Strengthening efforts like California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System so data directly fuels student success.
- Intentional Design: Pushing for data structures that uncover systemic inequities.
- Community-Centered Governance: Ensuring student, family, and advocate voices directly inform how data is collected and used.
- Accountable Implementation: Holding state systems accountable for delivering clear, actionable data that drives real policy change.
An equitable data system must be:
- Student & Family-First: Centers communities and families, not just institutions.
- Equity-Driven: Uses data to power systemic, asset-based change.
- Fully Inclusive: Counts every student and disaggregates data to uncover hidden gaps.
- Publicly Accessible: Offers clear, user-friendly tools for community action.
- Safe & Secure: Protects student privacy, especially for undocumented and vulnerable populations.
By the Numbers
California has made significant progress toward a more connected, accessible education and workforce data system. Here’s what that progress looks like by the numbers.
Billion
Data points connected
California’s Cradle-to-Career Data System is bringing together data across education, workforce, and social-service systems.
Million
Identified in Scholarships
Connected data helped identify more than 40,000 community college students with unclaimed CalKIDS scholarships.
Latest Resource
The D4TP Coalition’s 2026 Policy Agenda outlines how California can modernize its education and workforce data infrastructure to serve students better and advance equity.
What Needs to Change
At a glance, we are calling on state leaders to:
01
Build an Early Childhood Integrated Data System (ECIDS)
So the state can understand access, services, and outcomes before TK–12.
02
Strengthen TK–12 Instructional Data Reporting
Including courses, multilingual instruction, and program access.
03
Expand Multilingual Learner Data Across Systems
So MLL students are visible across early learning, postsecondary, and workforce outcomes.
04
Improve Dual Enrollment Data and Transparency
To track who has access, where barriers exist, and which pathways lead to success.
05
Align Education & Workforce Systems Through Interagency Coordination
So the state can understand access, services, and outcomes before TK–12.
06
Strengthen Student Debt Data Reporting
To better understand affordability barriers and inequitable debt outcomes.
07
Expand Workforce Pathway Insights
Connecting credentials to employment, wages, and long-term outcomes.
Student Pathways Dashboard
- How students transition from public high schools into post-secondary systems
- Where opportunity gaps emerge
- Which pathways lead to strong postsecondary and workforce outcomes
Take Action
Past Resources
Join the Movement
- Students of color, multilingual students, and students experiencing poverty
- Early childhood, TK–12, higher education, and workforce equity
- Youth voice, family engagement, immigrant justice, and student privacy
- Research, policy, and data as tools for systems change
- Advocate for student-centered data systems that reflect real pathways and experiences
- Advance aligned, cross-sector policy priorities at the state level
- Hold state agencies accountable for equitable, transparent data practices
- Translate complex data into actionable insights for communities, advocates, and decision-makers
