DEPARTMENT EXTENDS ARRA DEADLINE FOR FUNDING FOR STATE DATA SYSTEM PROGRAM UNTIL DECEMBER 4 — The U.S. Department of Education extended the application deadline for FY2009 funding under the State Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) until December 4. The Department extended the deadline to allow states more time to coordinate their development of applications under the program with other ARRA applications. All other information regarding the submission of applications remains the same.

The Department established the SLDS program to enable state education agencies (SEAs) to design, develop, and implement statewide longitudinal data systems to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and use individual student data. The Department’s long-term goal is to enable all states to create comprehensive P–20 systems that permit the generation and use of accurate and timely data; support analysis and informed decision-making at all levels of the education system; increase the efficiency with which data may be analyzed to support the continuous improvement of education services and outcomes; facilitate research to improve student academic achievement and close achievement gaps; support education accountability systems; and simplify the processes used by SEAs to make education data transparent through federal and public reporting.

Further information about the SLDS program can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/Programs/SLDS/grant_information.asp.