DOWNLOAD the A4L Quarterly Newsletter, March 2026 >>
Welcome to an Exciting Chapter for the A4L Community!
It is truly an exciting and invigorating time to be an active part of the A4L Community. There is so much positive energy and momentum driving numerous productive projects forward, fueled by the dedication of our members. This was undeniably evident at our recent 2026 SDPC & Unity Convening in the beautiful city of Long Beach, just a couple of weeks ago.
If you happened to miss the Convening, you missed what many are calling our best event in many years! The level of engagement, the quality of the content, and the stimulating conversations were exceptional. We were particularly pleased to see that the attendees were very closely split—nearly 50/50—between those focused on privacy and those focused on interoperability. This balance led to incredibly rich discussions across all sessions, ensuring that both critical pillars of our mission received equal attention and energy.
Our unique venue, the majestic Queen Mary, a beautifully preserved 1930s luxury steamliner, served as an amazing and inspiring backdrop. Its interesting history and scenic views of the Long Beach harbor provided a truly memorable and distinctive atmosphere for our work. We encourage all members to keep a close eye out for an upcoming announcement about the venue for next year’s Convening, as we are committed to finding another location that is just as unique and memorable to host our Community.
As you delve further into the contents of this newsletter, you will see a comprehensive overview of the tremendous work currently underway across the Community. This vital work includes:
SDPC Registry 2.0: The next evolution of the Student Data Privacy Consortium’s foundational registry, enhancing security and usability for all stakeholders.
NDPA Updates: Continued refinement and updates to the National Data Privacy Agreement framework, ensuring it remains the gold standard for data sharing agreements across the nation.
Global Education Security Standard (GESS): Progress on establishing an international benchmark for education technology security, broadening the impact of our work worldwide.
Unity Implementation: Accelerating the adoption and real-world deployment of the Unity interoperability framework to streamline data exchange.
AI Usage & Resources: Developing guidance, best practices, and resources for the responsible, ethical, and effective use of Artificial Intelligence within educational settings.
Supporting the EDUcore Project: Contributing our expertise and resources to this crucial initiative aimed at defining core data elements for education.
It is absolutely crucial to recognize that you, the members of the A4L Community, are the true drivers of all this essential work. Your expertise, commitment, and time are what translate vision into reality. As our membership continues its steady and encouraging growth, so too does our collective capacity to undertake increasingly ambitious and impactful projects. I am profoundly proud and honored to be a part of such a dedicated, talented, and impactful Community!
Global Community News:
Welcome Stephanie Swiderski to the A4L Team; Welcome new Members!; The A4L Community gets a re-brand; 2026 SDPC & Unity Convening: Overview; Scheduled Maintenance; an Update from the Association Board of Directors; 2026 Elections: Nominations now open!; True-Ups Using the SIF Infrastructure; and Community Project Team Updates.
NA Community News:
2026 Elections: Nominations now open!; A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing Unity; and, Building the Foundation for AI-Ready Education and Workforce Systems.
Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) News:
SDPC Resource Registry 2.0: Momentum is Building!; Vendor Member Benefits: Legislative Tracking and Discounted Privacy Training; COMMUNITY REVIEW: National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) v2.3—now open!; and new FERPA 101 Training course launched!