Education Commission of the States
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1965
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Education Commission of the States does
Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a Denver-based non-profit, non-partisan education policy organization founded in 1965 that serves state education leaders across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Its core product surface centers on policy intelligence: the State Education Policy Tracking tool (tracking enacted and vetoed education bills nationwide, with nearly 8,000 bills reviewed and 1,200+ enacted summaries in a recent year), the Resources by State database, Governors' State of the State Addresses analysis, and 50-State Comparisons across topics such as teacher recruitment, dual enrollment, postsecondary funding, and career technical education. ECS also convenes the annual National Forum on Education Policy, the winter Commissioners' Meeting, and topic-specific webinar series, and operates the Arts Education Partnership as a sub-brand for arts-education policy work.
ECS's technology foundation is a web-based content management system supporting interactive policy tracking tools and a searchable legislative database; the underlying architecture is content and data-publishing oriented rather than a unified software platform. Content distribution runs through the Ed Note Blog, newsletters, the ecs.org website, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Vimeo, and in-person convenings. The organization is governed by a commission structure with a rotating chair held by a sitting governor — Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (2025-27) currently — and aligns its work to six policy priority areas: AI and Data Systems, Early Care and Education, Funding, Governance, Postsecondary Affordability, and Workforce Development, with the current Chair's Initiative focused on Community Hubs for Addressing Needs for Greater Education (CHANGE).
As a non-profit, ECS operates on a freemium model: research reports, policy briefs, 50-State Comparisons, the policy tracking tool, and blog/newsletter content are provided at no cost to state education leaders and the broader policy community. Revenue is not publicly disclosed but is understood to come from membership dues from state governments, grants, and partner contributions. The customer base is exclusively state-level education policymakers — governors, legislators, state education agency officials, and education policy staff — supplemented by a secondary audience of researchers and advocates who consume the open content. No commercial pricing, API products, or private-sector offerings exist.
Education Commission of the States firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Education Commission of the States
- Legal name
- Education Commission of the States
- Website
- https://ecs.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1965
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Education Commission of the States industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Education Policy Research
- NAICS
- Administration of Education Programs (92311), Administration of Education Programs (923110), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- State/Provincial/Regional Education Departments (EDADAAAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Curriculum, Standards & Assessment Policy Research (EDADADAH), Accountability & Performance Frameworks (School/District/Institution Ratings) (EDADAIAD)
Keywords
Where Education Commission of the States is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Education Commission of the States business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Membership and Partnership Services: As a non-profit organization, ECS likely operates through membership fees, grants, and partnerships with state education agencies and educational organizations. Their services include convening education leaders, providing policy research, and facilitating collaboration among state policymakers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free access to public resources and policy tracking tools |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Education Commission of the States product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Education Commission of the States is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks state education policy trends, translates academic research, and provides unbiased advice and collaboration opportunities for state education leaders. Its core offerings include the State Education Policy Tracking tool (a database of enacted and vetoed education bills across all 50 states), 50-State Comparisons reports, Resources by State database, Governors' State of the State Addresses analysis, policy briefs, research reports, and the annual National Forum on Education Policy convening.
Product overview
Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a nonpartisan education policy research organization, not a technology product company. ECS provides a portfolio of policy research services, tools, and content offerings organized around six policy priority areas: AI and Data Systems, Early Care and Education, Funding, Governance, Postsecondary Affordability, and Workforce Development. The core offerings include the State Education Policy Tracking tool, Resources by State database, Governors' State of the State Addresses analysis, and 50-State Comparisons reports. ECS also operates the Arts Education Partnership program, publishes the Ed Note Blog, and hosts the annual National Forum on Education Policy event. These offerings function as policy intelligence services rather than a unified software platform with discrete product modules.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Arts Education Partnership (AEP): A collaborative initiative between ECS and other partners focused on arts education policy at the state level.
Products and services
- State Education Policy Tracking Tool An interactive database tool that allows state education policymakers and the public to search for enacted and vetoed education bills across all 50 U.S. states, tracking state legislative activity on education issues.
- Resources by State A searchable database providing state-specific education policy information, legislation summaries, and comparative state data for state policymakers and researchers.
- Governors' State of the State Addresses An analytical product that tracks and examines education-related proposals from governors' annual State of the State addresses across all 50 states.
- 50-State Comparisons Comparative analysis reports examining state policies across various education topics including postsecondary funding, teacher recruitment, dual enrollment, and career technical education.
- Arts Education Partnership A collaborative initiative between ECS and partners focused on arts education policy, providing research, resources, and policy guidance on arts education at state and federal levels.
- National Forum on Education Policy Annual convening bringing together education leaders and policymakers to discuss pressing education policy issues, with 2026 registration open for July 8-10 in Washington, D.C.
- Chair's Initiative: Community Hubs for Addressing Needs for Greater Education (CHANGE) Gov. Mark Gordon's 2025-27 Chair's Initiative focused on community hubs for addressing educational change and needs across U.S. states.
Quantifiable outcome
- Tracked nearly 8,000 bills and summarized over 1,200 enacted pieces of legislation in 2022
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Education Commission of the States
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Education Commission of the States technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Education Commission of the States partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Arts Education Partnership (AEP)coreECS and Arts Education Partnership collaboratively lead a preschool through fifth grade STEAM education initiative for state leaders. AEP provides arts education research and policy expertise while ECS provides access to state policymakers. They jointly produce resources including ArtScan at a Glance, which provides annual overview of arts education policies in all 50 states.
- Strong Start to FinishcoreStrong Start to Finish is an initiative focused on reforming developmental education in U.S. colleges. ECS supports this initiative and reports on its activities including the First-Year Success Fellows program bringing together policymakers, faculty, and academic leaders to eliminate remedial coursework barriers.
- Arts Ed NewarkminorLocal organization actively working to address inequities in arts education access for students of color and low-income communities. ECS coverage of arts education issues includes highlighting community-based efforts like this.
- Young AudiencesminorArts education organization working to address inequities in arts education access for students of color and low-income communities. Referenced in ECS coverage of arts education policy issues.
- International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)coreISTE collaborated with ECS during the 2020 ECS Live! event on sessions about building educator capacity for digital learning. ISTE provides expertise on technology standards while ECS facilitates state leader engagement on ed-tech policy topics.
- State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO)minorECS cites SHEEO research and reports on state higher education funding approaches and performance-based funding in their policy analysis work.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Education Commission of the States competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- National Conference of State Legislatures: Direct peer serving state legislators across all 50 states with non-partisan policy research, bill tracking, and convenings. Overlap with ECS is high in education, workforce, and state-policy domains.
- Council of Chief State School Officers: Direct peer serving state education agency chiefs with research, policy analysis, and convenings on P-12 education leadership. Overlaps with ECS in state education policy tracking and convening state leaders.
- State Higher Education Executive Officers Association: Direct peer serving state higher-education executive officers with funding, performance, and policy research. ECS cites SHEEO outputs and partners with it on postsecondary topics like performance-based funding.
Broad incumbents
- National Governors Association: Broader incumbent serving all U.S. governors on cross-sector policy, including dedicated education and workforce portfolios. ECS's rotating governorship model mirrors NGA's membership structure.
- American Institutes for Research: Larger think tank providing education policy and program evaluation research used by federal and state agencies. Comparable policy-research output and state-government customer base.
- RAND Corporation Education Division: Larger research organization producing education and workforce policy analyses for state and federal clients. Comparable analytic-product model targeting state education leaders.
Regional players
- Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education: Regional peer serving state higher-education policymakers across the Western U.S. with policy analysis, research, and interstate programs. Comparable service model; geography-restricted versus ECS's 50-state scope.
- Southern Regional Education Board: Regional peer serving 16 Southern states with education policy research, data programs, and convenings. Comparable membership/policy model with a narrower geographic footprint.
Emerging players
- Education Trust: Advocacy-oriented policy organization producing research and convenings on equity in P-16 education for state and federal policymakers. Overlaps with ECS on P-12 education policy content and convening.
Others
- International Society for Technology in Education: Strategic partner of ECS providing ed-tech standards and capacity-building expertise; an established education membership organization that co-convenes with ECS on digital-learning policy.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Education Commission of the States social profiles
Digital presenceEducation Commission of the States financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Education Commission of the States leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Education Commission of the States funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Education Commission of the States M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Education Commission of the States
What does Education Commission of the States do?
Education Commission of the States is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that tracks state education policy trends, translates academic research, and provides unbiased advice and collaboration opportunities for state education leaders. Its core offerings include the State Education Policy Tracking tool (a database of enacted and vetoed education bills across all 50 states), 50-State Comparisons reports, Resources by State database, Governors' State of the State Addresses analysis, policy briefs, research reports, and the annual National Forum on Education Policy convening.
Is Education Commission of the States a public or private company?
Education Commission of the States is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Education Commission of the States founded?
Education Commission of the States was founded in 1965. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Education Commission of the States based?
Education Commission of the States is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does Education Commission of the States make money?
One revenue line is on record: membership and Partnership Services.
Who are Education Commission of the States's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are National Conference of State Legislatures, Council of Chief State School Officers and State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Broad incumbents are National Governors Association, American Institutes for Research and RAND Corporation Education Division. Regional players are Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and Southern Regional Education Board. Education Trust is listed as an emerging player. International Society for Technology in Education is listed as an others.
Does Education Commission of the States have an API?
No public API is recorded for Education Commission of the States.
What industry is Education Commission of the States in?
Education Commission of the States's product category is Education Policy Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAAAB, State/Provincial/Regional Education Departments, with a secondary code of EDADADAH, Curriculum, Standards & Assessment Policy Research. Its NAICS code is 92311 and its SIC code is 8600.