DOWNLOAD the A4L Quarterly Newsletter, December 2025 >>
Hard to believe 2025 is already coming to a close…
It’s hard to believe that 2025 is already coming to a close. It has been a whirlwind of a year. With new administrations in all of our communities, US, AU & NZ, there have been many changes impacting the educational ecosystems across our membership with rippling impacts to be felt in years to come. As a Community driven by our members to address their most pressing needs, A4L has remained agile and responsive to these challenges. I continue to be inspired daily by the commitment and dedication of our members and leadership to address the challenges being faced by the PK20W+ ecosystem across the globe.
In the US for example, our peers have rallied behind Data Standards United (DSU) and the newly formed Education Data Unlimited (EDU) nonprofit to collaborate on the “Digital Freeway” project. This project is focused on aligning stakeholders and technical governance to unify the fragmented landscape of education and workforce data. At the same time, this project is focused on AI ensuring that education and workforce data is structured to ensure that when AI is leveraged and applied against education and workforce data we can expect the best outcomes.
At the same time we need to recognize, and where appropriate, celebrate accomplishments within our Community. As you have all seen by now, SDPC has recently celebrated its 10th birthday. It is truly amazing what this community has built over the past 10 years. It is through the dedication and perseverance of all our Community members that the SDPC has had such a large impact on the EdTech marketplace and the protection of so many students’ data. You should all feel very proud of what we have built together!
There are many other areas of work to be recognized over the past year. The ongoing work to advance SIF Unity, both the US data model and global infrastructure, is an ongoing effort that never stops. The Unity certification efforts specifically have advanced greatly over the past year. Of course the building and launching of the Registry 2.0 continues to be front and center. In addition the tedious ongoing work to improve the NDPA clause by clause must be highlighted and recognized as a huge lift for those directly involved in the drafting of the edits.
All of this work has not stopped our Community from growing. Membership is up along with participation from members as well as our overall productivity. 2026 is shaping up to be a very exciting year for A4L as we embark on new partnerships, launch the Registry 2.0 and lean into AI and its impact on the PK20W+ ecosystem.
I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing Holiday Season and return energized for an exciting year ahead of us!
Global Community News:
Welcome new Members!; Come Join Us at the 2026 SDPC & Unity Convening; Sponsorship Opportunities; A4L Community Survey winners announced!; Changes to the A4L Community Membership Agreement; Update from the Association Board of Directors; Scheduled Maintenance; The Community Needs You: Volunteer Opportunities (global); and Community Project Team Updates.
AU Community News:
SIF Data Model Specification (Australia) 3.6.4 coming soon…!
NA Community News:
The Community Needs You: Volunteer Opportunities (North America); A4L at the PESC November 2025 Data Summit; and What to expect from CEDS Conceptual Model in the coming year.
Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) News:
Celebrating 10 years of the SDPC!; NDPA v2.2 now available; Recent Enhancements to Registry 1.0; SDPC Resource Registry 2.0: Winter Update; Future Changes to the NDPA—We want your input; and Self-directed online privacy training.