Demonstrate the need for evaluating and assessing current edtech; Encourage wider adoption of effective edtech with educators, parents, and students; Promote effective at-home edtech activities with parents and students to garner feedback and support; and. Without transparency, it is difficult for parents and students to understand what data is being collected, why it is being collected, and how it is being used. Transparent student privacy policies and practices are necessary to effectively protect privacy in the educational context. By better understanding stakeholder concerns regarding student privacy and adopting good data governance policies and practices, school and district leaders can create a culture where the entire school community works together to support better educational outcomes while protecting student privacy. These efforts also work to reduce privacy risks and to instill an appreciation for the value of student data to support student success. It is extremely important that educators feel prepared to address any privacy-related issues with parents and are well-informed regarding student data collection, use, and protection. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. To aid in creating an understandable and useful data governance program, schools and districts should encourage educators, parents, and students to participate in the process by inviting them to sit in committee meetings, assist in drafting principles and policies, and report back how data governance is used in practice. The following elevator speech is designed to help school and district leaders start a dialogue with classroom educators about the importance of protecting student privacy and using only school- and district-vetted edtech tools in their classrooms. You can find the Spanish translation of the toolkit here. When you cancel the account or delete the app, will the vendor delete all the student data that has been provided or created? A Service of the Student Privacy Policy Offices Privacy Technical Assistance Center. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Ac t (FERPA) protects the confidentiality of student records and provides rights to parents and students to access those records. Below are some frequently asked questions followed by talking points to adapt and use with educators to ensure they have a high-level of comfort regarding student data policies. Student privacy refers to the ethical and equitable collection, use, sharing, and maintenance of student data. Another person may associate privacy with being free from surveillance, whether by their parents, their schools, or the government. Confidentiality is a set of rules that limits access or places restrictions on the use of certain types of information. Additionally, our school/district has a number of tools that collect data and are required for delivering instruction and other services to your child. Communicating that value and the associated policies and procedures to protect student data encourages prioritization of student privacy, better protection of student data, and the creation of a community-based culture of privacy. Under federal and state student privacy laws, parents have the right to access, review, and amend student data. In the absence of transparency, students and their parents worry about constant surveillance and monitoring through technological interactions. To fulfill the basic administrative functions of local, state, and federal governments, including tracking school and district performance, assessing how funding is being used, and informing the public. One person may think of privacy as being alone in a private space, such as their bedroom. The information provided here is only a starting point for training teachers to vet any edtech tools they would like to use in the classroom. Share success stories from peer schools or districts regarding student achievement and funding increases. Confidentiality is important because: -The person who does not keep information confidential, cannot be trusted. Provide notice and parents have the right to opt out (but check your specific state law first). The services a person can consent to vary based on age. Data governance programs can help build trust by establishing and articulating student privacy policies and practices and holding schools and districts accountable. However, the loss of trust due to insufficient privacy protections and poor communication can impede access through fierce parental opposition, restrictive federal and state regulations, and a general lack of cooperation. With the adoption of new methods for tracking attendance and engagement, students should be informed of the schools or districts policies and be provided an opportunity to ask questions and request alternative strategies. You along with any parents that may have questions can access that policy at any time by. General terms like studying or evaluating are preferred. How such policies can be put into practice. Providing communications across multiple channels to ensure accessibility by all parents, educators, and students. Too often students are excluded from conversations about student privacy. Each section will provide an overview of student privacy issues, examples of adaptable communication tools, and references to other resources to learn more about student privacy and data governance. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Use existing captive audience situations like educator in-service trainings and parent/educator conferences; Incentivize attendance at PTA meetings and back-to-school events; Hold data-specific educational forums for leaders in both groups to disseminate information back to the larger group (consider hosting those events both on- and off-campus); Fund relevant educator professional developments; Communicate the prioritization of privacy by the school and district often; and. These complex technical terms, if not defined, can be interpreted differently by different people. What is confidential information? How is the school/district using my childs data? Develop rules of engagement for their online classroom and set standards for how students are expected to participate when a class is recorded. Does the vendor create a profile of students, other than for the educational purposes specified? https://studentprivacycompass.org/contact-us/, Personally identifiable information (PII), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), Consortium for School Networkings (CoSN), Trusted Learning From the Ground Up: Fundamental Data Governance Policies and Procedures, CoSNs Trusted Learning Environment (TLE), Student Data Principles: 10 Foundational Principles for Using and Safeguarding Students Personal Information, US Department of Education Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC): Privacy, Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC): Resource Registry, PTAC: Transparency Best Practices for Schools and Districts, North Dakota School Boards Association (NDSBA): Model: North Dakota Student Education Records Access and Amendment Procedure, PTAC: Checklist for Developing School District Privacy Programs, Consortium for School Networking (CoSN): Trusted Learning Environment (TLE)Seal Program, FPF, ConnectSafely: The Educators Guide to Student Data Privacy, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Project Unicorn: Better Edtech Buying for Educators:A Practical Guide, Common Sense: Policy Annotator Training for Educators, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario: New Lesson Plans for Educators: Privacy Rights, Digital Literacy and Online Safety, FPF, ConnectSafely, PTA: A Parents Guide to Student Data Privacy, Federal Trade Commission (FTC): ProtectingYour Childs Privacy Online, US Department of Education (USED): Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services, CoSN: Cybersecurity Considerations in a COVID-19 World, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Surveillance Self-Defense: Privacy for Students, Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA): Peer Privacy Protector Project (PPPP). Our school/district complies with all existing federal and state student privacy laws, and we train our staff, faculty, and service providers to ensure they also comply. FERPA & Virtual Learning During COVID-19, Student Privacy Policy Office, Privacy Technical Assistance Center, US Department of Education (March 30, 2020). A diverse coalition of national education organizations created the Student Data Principles: 10 Foundational Principles for Using and Safeguarding Students Personal Information, which outlines ethical standards by which student data should or should not be used. Scenario: An increasing number of your students appear to have more mental health concerns since the start of the pandemic. The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) has developed this Student Privacy Communications Toolkit: For Schools and Districts to help school and district leaders have productive conversations with educators, parents, and students about ethical and equitable student privacy policies in their efforts to build trust and develop a culture of privacy. You may choose to adapt this short elevator speech when talking to your students about how their data may be collected, used, shared, and maintained. Maintaining student confidentiality is an important part of creating a positive learning environment. We dont want to prevent you from finding new tools to better support your students, but to protect student privacy we must ensure that anything you use in your classroom complies with state and federal student privacy laws, as well as our districts student privacy policy. Writing a Responsible Use Policy, Computer Explorers. Background on how the school or district developed its own policies, and. It also informs state and federal policymakers decisions that affect our schools and students. Does the app collect personally identifiable information (PII)? The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA provides certain rights for parents regarding their childrens education records. Avoid terms with negative connotations like exploit or manipulate to describe how data is used. Further, in an effort to assist their child in learning, parents may unwittingly use online tools that put their childs privacy at risk. For those programs and policies to be most effective, schools and districts must also clearly and effectively communicate to their stakeholders educators, parents, and students the value of student data to better support students. Educators and other school officials, such as district administrators, are authorized to provide consent on behalf of parents for the use of online tools in the context of educational programs. 3. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Incorporate data and stories into local, state, and federal reporting. Minor consent links to confidentiality because, when a young person accesses services under minor consent, those services . Student data provides important information to support our role in your students educational journey, so they are prepared to succeed in college, career, and life. If you are planning convenings, consider including bilingual facilitators or providing translators. Parents should learn about laws that govern the collection and use of student data and understand related parental rights as partners in their students digital education in order to protect their children from potential data misuse or harm. The list of resources contained in this Excel spreadhseet includes all guidance documents issued by the Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO). Student data may be collected for a number of purposes, including: Education stakeholders collect and use different types of student data to fulfill their roles and responsibilities. Puede encontrar la traduccin al espaol del kit de herramientas aqu. Avoid terms with negative connotations like "exploit" or "manipulate" to describe how data is used. When speaking about student privacy, it is important to be specific and tailor your message to your audience. Teachers should also prioritize student security when handling login information or passwords. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR 99.31): Author (s): Carolyn Stone, Ed.D. As such, attention to student privacy and clear communication of privacy policies and practices should be a foundational practice for schools and districts. Schools collect and hold a vast array of personal information regarding children and young people, including names, addresses, family information, subjects studied, grades and behavioural information. Sometimes, our school/district will ask for your approval for certain tools that require consent because the tool has met our vetting process, but the vendor does not have the ability to sign a data protection agreement (e.g., students sign up for an account directly), and a list of these specific tools will be provided at the beginning of each school year or as new tools are added. School and district leadership participation in conferences and seminars around student privacy; Involvement of third-party expert consultants; A demonstrated commitment to a consistent and thoughtful approach to protecting student data; Actions taken to appropriately vet edtech tools used by schools and districts; and. As an educator, you have access to some student data necessary for monitoring student progress and creating individualized learning plans. We encourage you to explore this site for additional updates, resources, analyses, and professional development materials. What about security? Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Provide notice and parents must opt in for the student to take the survey. Student Data Privacy Communications Toolkit, Excellence in Education (April 2016). Privacy is an amorphous concept, defined in different ways by different people in different contexts. Creating procedures for compliance with the. In this way, transparent privacy policies and standards that outline when, why, and how students are monitored and how their data and school technologies are used to support student learning bolsters trust. Conversations about privacy are nuanced and tend to be full of jargon. We administer and enforce student privacy laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). Educators, parents, and students need clear and easy to understand messages from schools and districts that convey a commitment to acting in accordance with ethical and equitable student privacy principles and that outline the schools or districts roles and responsibilities in adhering to and upholding them. Open and constructive dialogue is key to engaging audiences, maintaining trust, and supporting positive outcomes. Parents, especially those new to educational settings, may be unaware of what data is collected about their child and how that data is used and protected by educators, staff, and school and district administrators. Familiarize yourself with the Student Data Principles and the ways our school/district works to protect student privacy to build trust with parents and students, allowing us to use student data and edtech tools to better serve our students. Student data is student information that is collected and used in the educational context. As partners in your childs educational journey, we hope you will continue to engage with us, asking questions, sharing concerns, and keeping us accountable. You are also on the frontlines of communicating with students and parents about the importance of student privacy and our school/district policies and practices. Students from marginalized groups who have experienced discrimination are less likely to trust that schools, districts, and edtech companies have their best interests at heart when using student data.
