Stephen Barnes, executive director of the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, told the House Education Committee that LA FIRST (Louisiana’s Foundational Integrated Research System for Transformation) has been established to link data across eight state partners and local education agencies to answer long‑term questions about student pathways and workforce alignment.

Barnes said LA FIRST was created by the 2023 legislature (Act 394) to merge K‑12, Board of Regents, workforce commission and other administrative datasets into a de‑identified research environment. The system will produce three annual legislative research reports and respond to ad hoc requests. "The intent of this data system is to produce research and bring together data to inform your decision making and so that you all can monitor how things are going," he said.

Nut graf: LA FIRST aims to replace ad‑hoc local analyses with linked, multi‑agency evidence on career outcomes. Barnes said early results show the system can track how credential completers move into work and whether they remain in Louisiana, with notable differences between LPN and RN outcomes.

Barnes highlighted findings from the first employment‑outcomes report: many LPN program completers appear in Louisiana wage records working as LPNs (a high rate of in‑state employment), while a substantial share of RN program completers drop out of Louisiana wage records over time. He said the latter pattern could indicate workers leaving the state, leaving the workforce, or limitations in occupational reporting; the data alone do not identify the cause.

Committee members asked about data refresh schedules and automation. Rep. Fryberg asked whether LA FIRST pulls data on demand from partners or gets regular feeds; Barnes said initial transfers were manual but the project is moving toward refreshed, updated and expanded transfers. Barnes said the Blanco Center produced its first round of reports quickly and is now preparing deeper analysis in future years.

Ending: Barnes left copies of the initial reports and said LA FIRST would continue to refine occupational coding and longitudinal methods to provide more actionable guidance to legislators and education partners.