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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2780 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2171
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Aaron L. Saunders
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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to make data on workforce development outcomes public and accessible.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Aaron L. Saunders7th Hampden1/16/2025 1 of 5
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2780 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2171
By Representative Saunders of Belchertown, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2171)
of Aaron L. Saunders relative to the availability of data on workforce development outcomes.
Labor and Workforce Development.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act to make data on workforce development outcomes public and accessible.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 14P of chapter 151A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020
2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking the last sentence in subsection (f) and inserting
3the following:-
4 The director shall provide information secured under this section to other entities,
5including any federal, state, or local governmental agency, including the 16 Masshire workforce
6development boards, as defined under 20 CFR Chapter V pt 603, and a chief elected official as
7that term is defined in Section 3102(9) of Title 29 of the United States Code, or the agents or
8contractors of any governmental agency, where such information is to be used for:
9 evaluation of program performance, including, but not limited to, longitudinal outcome
10analysis of programs (including programs funded by public or private funds or a combination
11thereof) to the extent permitted by federal law;
12 financial or other analysis required by federal, state, or local law or regulation; 2 of 5
13 preparation of reports required by federal, state, or local law or regulation;
14 operation of public programs by such agencies, their agents, contractors and
15subcontractors, whenever the director determines that such information sharing is for the purpose
16of improving the quality or delivery of program services or to evaluate programs for equitable
17access and outcomes;
18 establishment of common case management systems between federal, state, or local
19agencies delivering or supporting workforce development services for a shared customer base,
20wherever such common case management system is for the purpose of fostering workforce
21development partnerships, program coordination, inter-agency collaboration, improving program
22services, or creating operational efficiencies.
23 SECTION 2: Said section 14P of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby further
24amended by inserting after subsection (i) the following subsection:-
25 (j) The department shall do the following:
26 (1) Develop the minimum requirements, as specified under 20 CFR pt 603 subpart B
27section 603.10, for granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this section
28regardless of local, state, or federal funding source,
29 (2) Develop a standard application for submitting a request for disclosure of information
30authorized by this section.
31 (3) Approve or deny a request for disclosure of information authorized by this subsection,
32or request additional information, within 30 business days of receiving the standard application.
33The entity submitting the application shall respond to any request by the department for 3 of 5
34additional information within 20 business days of receipt of the department’s request. Within 30
35calendar days of receiving any additional information, the department shall provide a final
36approval or denial of the request for disclosure of information authorized by this subsection. Any
37approval, denial, or request for additional information shall be in writing. Denials shall identify
38the reason or category of reasons for the denial.
39 (4) Make publicly available on the department’s website: the minimum requirements for
40granting a request for disclosure of information authorized by this section, the standard
41application developed, the timeframe for information request determinations by the department,
42contact information for assistance with requests for disclosures of information authorized by this
43subdivision.
44 (5) For wage data requests that are approved for the department of career services and the
45Masshire workforce development boards, on a quarterly basis the director of the department of
46career services shall report to the department the following information on participants, at a
47minimum, and to the extent the data are available, in order to be appended to the wage match
48file: participant demographic information; workforce training program and service participation,
49geographical location of services, and educational and other credential attainment. The
50department shall adhere to all applicable state and federal privacy laws, to protect individuals’
51private information while allowing measurement of aggregate data.
52 SECTION 3. Not later than 30 days after the effective date of this act, the executive
53office of labor and workforce development, in consultation with division of unemployment
54assistance, the department of career services, the commonwealth corporation, the Massachusetts
55workforce association, the workforce solutions group, and any other appropriate agencies or 4 of 5
56entities, shall convene a task force to develop the action steps required to improve state
57workforce data infrastructure and promote data use, with the goal of creating data systems that
58can illustrate how workforce education and training programs are providing opportunity for
59sustainable employment in the commonwealth. The task force shall develop action steps to
60accomplish the following:
61 (1) Connect education, workforce development and employment data with such data from
62other states, to the extent permitted by law and in a manner that protects individuals’ private
63information while allowing measurement of aggregate data; and
64 (2) Ensure adherence to data security and privacy principles, and all applicable state and
65federal privacy laws, to protect individuals’ private information while allowing measurement of
66aggregate data; and
67 (3) Improve access to and quality of the wage data is shared with the workforce system
68by working with the department of career services and the department of unemployment
69assistance to ensure that the wage data files shared between each agency have sufficient
70information to allow for effective and ongoing workforce program evaluation; and
71 (4) Direct the executive office of labor and workforce development to participate in the
72Massachusetts education-to-career data system and any other state longitudinal data system
73efforts; and
74 (5) Review quarterly measures, identifying key trends, analyze equitable access to
75programs and services, and ensure system partners, stakeholders, and the public have access to
76data as allowed under state and federal privacy laws; and 5 of 5
77 (6) Develop a two and six-year plan to guide future system improvements.
78 The task force shall submit a report, with its findings and recommendations, together
79with drafts of legislation necessary to carry those recommendations into effect by filing the same
80with the clerks of the house of representatives and senate, the house and senate committees on
81ways and means, the joint committee on economic development and emerging technologies, the
82joint committee on labor and workforce development, the joint committee on higher education
83and the office of the governor not later than January 1, 2026.