For Immediate Release
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KOHL ANNOUNCES $13.8 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING FOR WISCONSIN EDUCATION PROGRAM 

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl announced that the state of Wisconsin will receive a state longitudinal data systems (SLDS) grant totaling $13.8 million through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The funding will support Wisconsin's system of collecting and analyzing data on students' achievement throughout their academic careers. In February of 2009, Senator Kohl voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act which included funding for a number of education-related grant programs, including Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation, and the SLDS grants. Each of these new programs relies on the use of data as a means of demonstrating achievement and keeping schools accountable for student performance. 

"This investment will provide much-needed resources and technology to the state to track student achievement from early childhood through entrance into the workforce," Kohl said. "I am proud that Wisconsin was awarded this highly competitive grant and know that this investment will be a tool that can enrich the education system in the state. The more we can learn about student growth, the better teachers and schools will be able to use this information to prepare our young people for success in school and in life."            

According to the Department of Education, these awards will support the development and implementation of data systems to enable States to track and examine student progress from early childhood into career, while protecting student privacy and confidentiality consistent with applicable privacy protection laws. Funds from this grant will be used to merge data bases between the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the University of Wisconsin System, the Wisconsin Technical College System, and the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, allowing data to be shared from pre-k through college.