Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems

The FDOE Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Program - jointly funded by continued financial support of the Florida Legislature, Federal Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems grants (2009 SLDS and 2009-ARRA SLDS), and Race to the Top (RTTT) grant (specifically, Data Assurance Area [Section C, Data Systems to Support Instruction]) - was established to manage the modernization and expansion of access to Florida educational data and applications by education stakeholders. The SLDS consists of multiple initiatives designed to support the following federal long-term goals:

• Increase the number and capacity of comprehensive statewide longitudinal data systems
• Promote states' ability to generate accurate and timely data to meet federal reporting requirements
• Support evidence-based decision-making
• Increase the efficiency and organization of transferring educational data among schools, districts, and states in order to improve student achievement

Latest News

Welcome! Please check back frequently for the latest news and updates to the SLDS Program. We will be working towards open communication on the status of all program initiatives and related materials. In the coming months we will also leverage opportunities to communicate in person, via conference presentations and program-sponsored events. So stay tuned…

We now have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document available and we'll be updating periodically as additional questions are collected and information becomes available.

• SLDS Program Frequently Asked Questions (Word)

Please visit the new Race to the Top Single Sign-On web page for access to the latest news, webinar schedules, helpful resources, and much more.

SLDS Program Funding

As mentioned previously, SLDS Program initiatives are funded in part by the Federal Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program, established by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), as authorized by the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002, Title II. The U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top program (RTTT), a $4.35 billion program designed to spur reforms in state and local district K-12 education, supports other initiatives of the SLDS Program. RTTT is funded by the ED Recovery Act as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Three federal grants currently support SLDS Program initiatives:

1. SLDS FY09 (Round 3), July 2009 - June 2014
2. SLDS FY09 ARRA (Round 4), July 2010 - June 2013
3. Race to the Top, Section C (RTTT), October 2010 - June 2014

To participate and benefit from aforementioned federal education grants, FLDOE, in consultation with Local Education Agencies (LEAs), created a high-quality, four-step plan to modernize and expand access to its data and applications by education stakeholders. The four-step plan will enable FLDOE to leverage the foundation of the Education Data Warehouse (EDW), applications, and the existing technology environment to provide actionable information to education stakeholders. The four steps are:

1. Modernizing vital data source systems to enable more timely access to the data for analysis and reporting through the EDW and by applications.
2. Implementing information governance to encompass data, program, and technology governance to improve data quality.
3. Automating the process for gaining access to student and staff level data by researchers.
4. Creating a centralized gateway with single sign-on access to serve teachers in the classroom, principals, students, parents, guidance counselors, LEA leaders, unions, researchers, policy makers, education community members, and the public.

The combined results of FLDOE's four-step plan will be a modernized and accessible student-centered environment that provides actionable information to inform and engage Florida's education stakeholders.

SLDS Program Goals

The SLDS Program has the following four goals.

1. Integrate disparate and independently developed/operating PK-12, Florida College System (formerly called Community Colleges), and Workforce Education data systems into a comprehensive Education Data Warehouse (EDW v2.0) system while concurrently facilitating collection, storage and dissemination of staff and student specific data in a seamless manner.
2. Improve the quality of data maintained and provided by FLDOE with upstream edits and downstream analytics.
3. Support evidence-based education decision-making through widespread access to an improved statewide longitudinal data system.
4. Enhance Local Instructional Improvement Systems with minimum standards, financial support to small and rural districts, and a platform to exchange related ideas and information.

SLDS Program Governance Structure

The SLDS Program established an overall governance structure to aid in the delivery and achievement of all program objectives.

• Program Governance Structure (PDF)
• Program Governance Structure (Word)

The Executive Steering Committee (ESC) is comprised of the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner for Accountability, Research, and Measurement, and the Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Operations, and includes Executive Advisors. Below the ESC are the Project Leadership Team, Program Management Team, Guidance Team, Delivery Management Team and other external business advisors. In addition, the Project Management Office (PMO) as well as the Executive Office of the Governor and legislative staff monitor the overall program.

SLDS Program High-Level Timeline

For a brief summary of program accomplishments and upcoming milestones, we invite you to review the SLDS Program High-Level Timeline.

• SLDS Program High-Level Timeline (PDF)
• SLDS Program High-Level Timeline (Word)

This snapshot of program activities and accomplishments will be updated frequently to provide you with current insight into all program activities.

Dr. Andre Smith
Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Data Systems
SLDS Program Director
325 West Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
Phone: 850-245-0428
Andre.Smith@fldoe.org