Governance

Governed by the people who use it

As more states, districts, and vendors build on the Ed-Fi Data Standard, decisions about where it goes next can't rest on staff judgment alone. Governance is how the community's experience actually reaches the roadmap.

Where changes start	How the standard keeps moving
Anyone in the Ed-Fi Community can propose a change to the data model or technology, grounded in what they're seeing in the field.	Proposals get prioritized, reviewed, and folded back into the roadmap on a regular cycle — not left to sit.

The Three Tiers

1. Propose & debate - Community groups made up of education agencies, vendors, and partners.
2. Prioritize & poll - Balancing voices across the ecosystem.
3. Approve & advocate - The Ed-Fi Alliance Management Committee.

1️⃣ Propose and Debate

Open to any community member. This is where education agencies, vendors, and partners propose and debate changes to the data model and technology.

Current groups:

• Data Standard
• Data Management Service
• Assessment Workgroup
• State Education Agencies
• Educator Prep Program (EPP)

From time to time, these long-lived workgroups are complemented by temporary Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Unlike governance workgroups, SIGs are initiated by the Alliance with a more narrow focus and designed to produce specific, discrete outputs. SIGs report their work out to the Technical Advisory Group, who connect SIG outputs to other Ed-Fi governance processes. Visit the SIG page in Confluence for a list of current and past SIGs and their meeting notes.

tip

Visit the linked workgroup, GAT, and TAG pages to review current membership and meeting notes in Confluence.

2️⃣ Prioritize and Poll

The Governance Advisory Team and Technical Advisory Group are representative leaders from across the community. These leaders prioritize proposals, helping to balance voices across the ecosystem so changes meet the greatest community need.

• Governance Advisory Team (GAT)
• Technical Advisory Group (TAG)

3️⃣ Approve and Advocate

The Ed-Fi Management Committee gives final approval, adjusts the roadmap accordingly, and executes updates to the data standard and technology stack.

Members:

• Craig Epstein
• Eric Jansson
• Maureen Wentworth
• Sean Casey
• Stephen Fuqua

From Idea to Final Approval

Every change moves through the same stages, whether it starts with a work group or with Alliance staff.

1. Idea initiation: Someone raises a change or a gap in the standard.
2. RFC process & engagement: The idea becomes a request. The Ed-Fi Alliance team manages proposed changes, engaging with members of the community to design and validate them: Data Standard Request for Comment • Technology Suite Proposals
3. Incorporation of feedback: Comments from both tracks get folded back into the proposal.
4. TAG + GAT review: Changes are reviewed by the Technical Advisory Group and Governance Advisory Team as needed.
5. Final approval: The Ed-Fi Alliance Management Committee signs off and the change is implemented on the roadmap.