Already free for education agencies, EDU can now be built into commercial products and services, giving states and districts more options for managing education data
MADISON, Wis. — Nov. 2, 2026 — Education Analytics (EA), a Madison-based nonprofit, today released Enable Data Union (EDU) under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, an open-source license. EDU is an open framework for analytics and data warehousing built on the Ed-Fi Data Standard, and it serves as the transformation and analytics layer of the Ed-Tech Collaboratory’s (ETC) shared state K-12 data software distribution. Already free for education agencies since 2022, EDU can now also be incorporated into commercial products and services, giving states and districts more options for how they use and maintain their data systems.
For nearly two decades, states have invested in statewide longitudinal data systems to connect information across schools, districts, and years. While these efforts have substantially improved the availability of education data, the underlying infrastructure remains fragmented, with states often relying on custom systems that are expensive to maintain and difficult to extend to new uses.
“For years, every state has had to build that software on its own,” Dr. Andrew Rice, CEO of Education Analytics, said. “EDU has always been free for education agencies, and now it’s open to commercial vendors. When vendors can build on the same open foundation as states, agencies have more choices and a stronger ecosystem continues to evolve. The work that’s done after EDU implementation is what the field of education has been waiting for.”
EA introduced EDU in 2022 and made it free for education agencies under a noncommercial license. Since then, states and districts have put it into production on both Snowflake and Databricks. Tennessee implemented its data warehouse and transformation layer using EDU in weeks, rather than the months or years these projects typically take. The state also contributed Databricks support back to the shared codebase, so every agency that follows benefits. Through ETC, states are now building a coherent, standards-based data software distribution together, and an open-source license allows any qualified team, commercial or not, to run and support EDU as part of it.
“Enable Data Union gives states and districts a practical way to turn education data into information they can use, without having to build the underlying software from scratch,” Craig Epstein, head of the Ed-Fi Alliance, said. “Built on the Ed-Fi Data Standard, EDU shows the value of shared technology that others can build on. Opening it to commercial providers creates more opportunities to develop tools that help educators make informed decisions and improve student outcomes.”
Dr. Rice added, “Education agencies have always been able to implement EDU themselves, with technical assistance, or through any of their service providers. Now, commercial vendors are no longer excluded from using the EDU code in their products. We hope that this continues to enhance competition and create a vibrant ecosystem of products and services that rely on open standards.”
EA will continue to maintain EDU and to offer Stadium, its managed option built on the same code. The code, documentation, and information on how to contribute are available at enabledataunion.org.
About Education Analytics
Founded in 2013 as a nonprofit, Education Analytics has supported more than 2,000 local education agencies across 33 states by delivering in-depth research and advanced analytics designed to drive meaningful improvements in education. EA’s work spans large urban districts, smaller regional education collaboratives, state education agencies, leading universities, research organizations, charter management groups, and other nonprofit partners committed to enhancing educational outcomes.
About Enable Data Union (EDU)
Enable Data Union is a secure, publicly available codebase that empowers schools and districts to unify their education data in one place. EDU simplifies data management by streamlining and organizing student information, and preparing it for reports, dashboards, and advanced analytics. Flexible and vendor-neutral, EDU provides technology leaders the control and adaptability they need for their data systems. This technology serves thousands of school districts and millions of students nationwide.
About the Ed-Fi Alliance
The Ed-Fi Alliance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering educators with real-time, actionable data to boost student success. An initiative of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Ed-Fi Alliance provides a free, open-source data standard and technology suite that connects disparate K-12 education software systems. By enabling secure interoperability across platforms, the Ed-Fi Alliance helps school districts and state education agencies pull together fragmented data — such as attendance, grades, and test scores — into a unified view. This allows teachers, parents, and leaders to make fast, informed decisions that address the unique needs of every student. To learn more, visit Ed-Fi.org.
