Having met this goal, the IMS community is full-speed ahead, encouraging broader support from suppliers and districts. Over 4.3 million students in the U.S. are served by this first wave of institutional signatories of Standards First, representing the use of over 800 edtech products common to K-12 districts of all sizes across the United States. IMS members represent over 200 school districts, state agencies, and universities in the U.S., impacting over 23 million students. Over 400 edtech suppliers are members of IMS.

The pledge signatories have indicated that they will abide by a set of common-sense principles that enable mutual trust and support. A signatory is not required to be an IMS- member organization to benefit from the support provided by Standards First. The pledge applies to the use of all open standards, not just those standards from IMS.

"We've learned that more than a great standard is needed to ensure interoperability and get past what sometimes feels like an endless cycle of last-minute customizations across the K-12 ecosystem," said Tim Beekman, President of SAFARI Montage and Chair of the IMS Board of Directors. "Thanks to the commitment of stakeholders working together via the pledge to get this right, as well as a new set of integration diagnostic tools provided by IMS, we are finally able to get on the path to rostering consistency in K-12."

"The Standards First pledge is the commitment that gets us all on the same page with respect to setting expectations collectively across school districts, states, and their supplier partners," said Dr. Emily Bell, Chief Information Officer at Fulton County Schools. "Open standards as the first choice means important benefits that include safe interoperability, more time for teachers to connect with students, and timely access to the right learning resources for students."

"I want to thank the more than 650 IMS member organizations that are leading the investment in open standards in edtech worldwide," said Dr. Rob Abel, CEO of IMS Global Learning Consortium. "Their unwavering support and commitment to the cause of supporting faculty and students with seamless interoperability based on open standards is making edtech better for schools and institutions of all sizes every single day."