Title 42
State Affairs and Government

Chapter 165
Rhode Island Longitudinal Data System Act

§ 42-165-7. The Rhode Island longitudinal data system center.

(a) Purpose. The purpose of the center is to manage and operate the RILDS and conduct research and evaluate programs regarding federal, state, and local programs and policies. The center shall be managed by an executive director (hereafter the “director”) responsible for the daily management and operations of the center. The director will also be responsible for interfacing and collaborating between the board and the data governance committee, as well as external communications and agreements. The director shall be a non-classified employee of the council on postsecondary education under the supervision of and subject to the authority of the commissioner of postsecondary education.

(b) Powers and duties. The duties of the center shall be to:

(1) Act as an authorized representative, research partner, and business associate of the state’s agencies, including those responsible for education and workforce, under and in accordance with the requirements of applicable federal and state statutes and/or state and federal privacy laws and state security policies;

(2) Enter into memoranda of understanding with state agencies, nonprofits, universities, subnational governments, and other entities for the purposes of data sharing and analysis;

(3) Coordinate with participating agencies and other entities to ensure the integrity and quality of data being collected, including implementing the data quality and metadata policies approved by the board;

(4) Advance research and allow policymakers to explore critical research policy questions and to measure investments in education and workforce development;

(5) In consultation with the board, identify the state’s critical research and policy questions;

(6) Provide analysis and reports that assist with evaluating programs and measuring investments, subject to the policies approved by the board;

(7) Implement policies and procedures approved by the board that govern the security, privacy, access to, and confidentiality of the data, in accordance with relevant federal and state privacy laws;

(8) Ensure that information contained in and available through the RILDS is kept secure, and that individual privacy is protected, and maintain insurance coverage;

(9) Respond to approved research data requests in accordance with the policies and procedures approved by the board;

(10) Enter into contracts or other agreements with appropriate entities, including but not limited to universities, and federal, state, and local agencies, to the extent necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities only if such contracts or agreements incorporate adequate protections with respect to the privacy and security of any information to be shared, and are approved, in writing, by the applicable agency whose data or information is to be shared, and are allowable under applicable state and federal privacy laws; and

(11) Maintain staff necessary to carry out the above duties as provided for in the state budget. Staff at the center shall be non-classified employees of the council on postsecondary education, under the supervision of and subject to the authority of the commissioner of postsecondary education. The non-SLDS activity of the center shall also be under the supervision and authority of the commissioner of postsecondary education and the council on postsecondary education. The council on postsecondary education, its office of the postsecondary commissioner, and its employees shall be included under the limitation of damages for tort liability for the State set out in § 9-31-1 et seq., for all actions involving the center regarding the RILDS and/or SLDS and for any other activity of the center regarding its receipt, storage, sharing, and transmission of data as part of its non-SLDS operations and activities.

(12) The council on postsecondary education shall be the employer of public record for the Center.

(c) Funding. Appropriations made pursuant to this chapter shall be used exclusively for the development and operation of RILDS.

(1) The board and the center may implement a data request fee policy to compensate for excessive use of the data system, to recover costs that would otherwise typically be borne by the requesting data researcher, or both. A data request fee policy implemented pursuant to this section shall be reviewed and approved by the board, revised periodically, and made publicly available and posted in a prominent location on the RILDS’s internet website.

(2) The center may receive funding for its operation of the RILDS from the following sources:

(i) State appropriations;

(ii) Federal grants;

(iii) User fees; and

(iv) Any other grants or contributions from public agencies or other entities.

(3) There is hereby established a restricted receipt account in the general fund of the state and housed in the budget of the office of postsecondary commissioner entitled “longitudinal data system — non-federal grants.” The express purpose of this account is to record receipts and expenditures of the program herein described and established within this chapter.