The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Maryland Authorizes State Data Center to Share Student and Workforce Records with External Platforms for Multistate Research
Last action · April 14, 2026: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 101
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Does
Maryland law now permits the Governing Board of the Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center to share individual-level student and workforce records with a single external third-party data center at a time for multistate research, effective July 1, 2026. The legislation establishes strict security and privacy requirements, including certification and mandatory annual legislative reports.
Changes how sensitive state educational and employment records are handled by permitting external cross-border data matching, backed by mandatory compliance reviews and legislative oversight.
- The Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center acts as Maryland's central repository for student and workforce data to improve educational programs and guide government decision-making. context
- FedRAMP is a government-wide program that standardizes security assessments for cloud products and services used by federal and state agencies. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Maryland Longitudinal Data System Center
Gains the authority to partner with a third-party data center for multistate research while assuming new reporting and annual review obligations.
Students and Workforce Members
Individual-level records may be shared with an external platform for multistate matching, subject to de-identification and hashing protections.
Senate Committee on Education, Energy, and the Environment
Receives initial notification reports within 30 days of an agreement and annual status updates.
House Ways and Means Committee
Receives initial notification reports within 30 days of an agreement and annual status updates.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is allowed to receive student and workforce data under this law?
How many external data centers can receive data at the same time?
What protections exist to protect individual privacy?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
31 actions- Apr 14, 2026Governor of MarylandEnrolledApproved by the Governor - Chapter 101
- Apr 9, 2026SenateFloorReturned Passed
- Apr 8, 2026HouseFloorThird Reading Passed (99-35)
- Apr 3, 2026HouseFloorFavorable Adopted Second Reading Passed
- Apr 2, 2026HouseCommitteeFavorable Report by Ways and Means
- Mar 25, 2026HouseHearing 3/25 at 1:30 p.m.
Show 25 earlier actions
- Mar 25, 2026HouseHearing canceled
- Mar 16, 2026HouseHearing 3/25 at 1:00 p.m.
- Mar 10, 2026HouseCommitteeReferred Ways and Means
- Mar 9, 2026SenateFloorThird Reading Passed (44-0)
- Mar 5, 2026SenateFloorSecond Reading Passed with Amendments
- Mar 5, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments Adopted
- Mar 5, 2026SenateSubstitute Committee Amendment { 103724/1 Adopted
- Mar 5, 2026SenateCommittee Amendment { 183325/1 Withdrawn
- Mar 5, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Mar 4, 2026SenateFloorMotion Special Order until 3/5 (Senator Hester) Adopted
- Mar 4, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Feb 27, 2026SenateFloorMotion Special Order until 3/4 (Senator Hester) Adopted
- Feb 27, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Feb 26, 2026SenateFloorMotion Special Order until 2/27 (Senator Hester) Adopted
- Feb 26, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Feb 19, 2026SenateFloorMotion Special Order until 2/26 (Senator Ready) Adopted
- Feb 19, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Feb 18, 2026SenateFloorMotion Special Order until 2/19 (Senator Ready) Adopted
- Feb 18, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Feb 17, 2026SenateFloorMotion Laid Over (Senator Ready) Adopted
- Feb 17, 2026SenateFavorable with Amendments { 183325/1
- Feb 16, 2026SenateCommitteeFavorable with Amendments Report by Education, Energy, and the Environment
- Jan 16, 2026SenateHearing 2/04 at 2:00 p.m.
- Jan 14, 2026SenateIntroducedFirst Reading Education, Energy, and the Environment
- Oct 1, 2025SenateIntroducedPre-filed
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift from Federal Census Bureau to Certified Third-Party Platforms
The statute explicitly repeals the Governing Board's prior authority to share student info with the U.S. Census Bureau and replaces it with a structured framework for partnering with a certified third-party data center.
Connected Entities
Sources
mgaleg.maryland.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools