As some schools and districts consider administering social, emotional, and behavioral screening surveys, it is important to consider the privacy and equity concerns and requirements. Take this opportunity to clearly communicate the platforms students will be using, their educational value, and the precautions that the school is taking to safeguard student information against the privacy risks that may come with the use of any app or online tool. In this instance, privacy is not only a definition but plays a role in establishing agreed-upon protections to affirm fairness, including the creation of transparent policies and practices that help correct power imbalances between the individual, the technology, and the institution. If a third-party service provider needs access to limited student data to successfully perform its role with our school/district, our contract includes strict controls and consequences to ensure the protection of student data. In addition, we provide technical assistance to help schools and school districts safeguard information about students. The resource includes a checklist for inventorying existing data protection policies and procedures, presenting an opportunity to identify gaps that may be inadvertently placing student privacy at risk. 2022-2023 Private Schools Test Administration Information 1 . Education Data 101: A Briefing Book for Policymakers, Data Quality Campaign (December 2017). Those who have had a credit card compromised or personal information stolen are aware of the difficult ramifications of data collection and sharing gone awry. One way to reduce the likelihood of students engaging in activities that compromise privacy and security is to set common expectations for online activities and behaviors through a responsible or acceptable use of technology policy. Does the vendor claim that it can change its privacy policy without notice at any time? 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. 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. Student Data Privacy Communications Toolkit, Excellence in Education (April 2016). Translating communications into other languages for non-native English speakers. Under federal and state student privacy laws, parents have the right to access, review, and amend student data. COPPA, which applies to operators of commercial websites and online services, regulates the collection of information from children under the age of 13. Scenario: An increasing number of your students appear to have more mental health concerns since the start of the pandemic. With the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online learning, many schools and districts rapidly adopted new edtech tools to continue teaching students remotely and to assist with return-to-school efforts. Our school/district commits to safeguarding student data according to federal and state law and with ethical and equitable privacy practices in mind. Provide notice and parents have the right to opt out. Too often students are excluded from conversations about student privacy. When discussing data sharing, be very specific on the purpose, limitations, and parameters set around the shared data, and the safeguards in place that protect student privacy. Note: The following form is designed to be adapted according to your school and/or district policies and practices, as well as student age and grade level. For example, schools and districts may choose to share responsible use of technology policies with elementary school-aged students through animated videos as opposed to a written form. They might insist that counselors report the HIV status of students, making the argument that school safety is at stake. 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. Name, age, gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and other demographic data requested or required when registering a student for school at the beginning of the school year; Grades, test scores, attendance, discipline and health records, and college and career goals that are tracked to help schools follow the progression of a student throughout their educational career; Observational data about a students behavior or interests generated by educators throughout the school day; and. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Provide notice only if the survey was created by a third party. Don't ever speak about students around 3rd parties. 2023 Student Privacy Compass | Built by Collaborative Communications and Social Driver, Student Privacy Communications Toolkit: For Schools & Districts. For example, educators should check to see if the vendor creates a profile of students for non-educational purposes or if any advertisements are shown to students while using the product. Reach out to us with suggestions for other resources that might be useful or any questions at https://studentprivacycompass.org/contact-us/. Schools and districts must work together with educators, parents, and students to create a culture of privacy where all parties understand the need to protect student privacy and act accordingly. 2. March 1, 2021. Just like toothpaste in a tube, once sensitive information is released, it is hard, if not impossible, to get it back where it belongs. Providing accountability and transparency through clear documentation of roles, policies, and procedures and through continuous engagement with education stakeholders. We commit to protecting student information according to the Student Data Principles and have developed/are actively working towards developing a comprehensive data governance policy addressing how student data is collected, accessed, used, and maintained, available for review on our district website (if applicable). Some schools and districts plan to rely on learning analytics, such as tracking the minutes spent logged into a particular website, to assess engagement and participation. Stone and Isaacs (2003) recommend additional school policies regarding student confidentiality in Consent & Confidentiality. Online classrooms complicate the once simple process of marking attendance and assessing student engagement. To improve a students educational experience, including allowing educators to track student progress and plan appropriate interventions if or when they are needed; To protect a students health and safety, including maintaining medical forms, allergy information, and emergency contact information; To fulfill the basic administrative functions of the school, including collecting, maintaining, and reporting basic enrollment, attendance, and academic records for a student; and. It is also important for educators to consider key questions that are vital in upholding certain student privacy protections. When responding to such incidents, school and district leaders can use the following questions to guide a conversation about the need to respect and protect privacy and security. International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP): What is Privacy? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Texas Constitution and Statutes . In a physical classroom, a students presence is clearly visible and serves as a noncontroversial measure of attendance while in an online classroom, attendance is much more nuanced and difficult to calculate. When speaking about student privacy, it is important to be specific and tailor your message to your audience. This letter is meant to inform State Education Agencies about their responsibilities regarding federal privacy laws including FERPA and PPRA. The US Department of Education recommends that schools and districts should be clear with both teachers and administrators about how proposed online educational services can be approved, and who has the authority to enter into agreements with providers; this includes free services. Open and constructive dialogue is key to engaging audiences, maintaining trust, and supporting positive outcomes. The Family Educational Rights and Policy Act (FERPA) is a federal law passed in 1974. FERPA, which applies to all schools receiving funding from the US Department of Education, guarantees parents access to their childrens education records and restricts the parties to whom schools can disclose students education records without consent. To kickstart a proactive, positive conversation with parents about the collection and use of their students personal information, school and district leaders may find the following elevator speech useful: Our school/district cares deeply about our students and seeks to help them succeed in school and in life. The term data sharing also often negatively connotes that data is given to a third-party or made public without adequate protections. Data, Data Use, and Data Sharing: Schools and districts can mitigate some privacy concerns by devising effective strategies to explain the lifecycle of student data, including collection, use, sharing, and maintenance. As such, attention to student privacy and clear communication of privacy policies and practices should be a foundational practice for schools and districts. 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. It is usually executed through confidentiality agreements and policies. Consider the background and experiences of your audience as you prepare for conversations about student privacy. We carefully vet all tools used in classrooms and ensure compliance with federal and state laws regarding data protection and privacy. Below are some recommendations for communicating about student privacy. Regular communications to educators, parents, and students. Private schools that choose to participate may purchase the secure spring 202 3 state assessments. 'Protecting the student' was rated as the most important factor, and 'Gender of the student' was the least important factor. To understand student privacy, it is important to first establish a common understanding of what student data is and the different kinds of student data that are collected and must be protected. Further, messaging to educators should look different from messaging to students. Because students especially younger children are not fully equipped to weigh the potential benefits and risks of data collection and use, they require special privacy protections. 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. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Providing your audience with proactive, regular, and predictable updates will build trust within your school community. These questions should be adapted as appropriate based on the students age and stage of development. Note: The following notice is designed to be adapted according to your school and/or district policies and practices. Only record the educators portion of the presentation or lesson, without showing students or recording student participants. This communication should provide students and families with the details of how students will be assessed, including the types of information collected and how it will be used, particularly any effects on grades or student records, and provide them with opportunities to request accommodations or alternatives. Puede encontrar la traduccin al espaol del kit de herramientas aqu. Understanding the different types of student data allows us to better comprehend the sensitivity and potential privacy risks associated with each type, which informs what data schools and districts choose to collect and use and how the data is protected. 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. Teachers should also prioritize student security when handling login information or passwords. You want to require all students to complete a survey about any mental health problems, suicidal ideation, counseling needs, psychological problems . Adopting a security incident response plan that includes procedures for identifying, containing, mitigating, reporting, and communicating security incidents. 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. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act or FERPA provides certain rights for parents regarding their childrens education records. It is permissible for a lesson to be recorded so long as no FERPA-protected student information is disclosed in the recording. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. The services a person can consent to vary based on age. Open and frank conversations about student privacy are necessary to ease the school communitys concerns, particularly when children are involved. Any type of data collection, use, or storage entails potential short- and long-term risks. As partners in your childs educational journey, we hope you will continue to engage with us, asking questions, sharing concerns, and keeping us accountable. Why is it so important to protect student data? Data about groups of students at a summary level (e.g., data shared as part of the schools federal reporting requirements). Our school and district collect various amounts of student data and has a comprehensive privacy policy in place to help keep data safe. Schools should have a solid technical understanding of how they are measuring logins before proceeding down this path, as this can differ between applications and between web and mobile versions of the same tool. However, with online or hybrid learning environments where such constant physical observation is not possible, schools, districts, and educators have been seeking innovative solutions to ensure students are present, engaged, and learning. These complex technical terms, if not defined, can be interpreted differently by different people. With that in mind, schools and districts should not only write policies in plain language but also clearly communicate the values that guide their decision making. Parents should also equip and empower their children with digital literacy and citizenship skills to engage safely and responsibly online. Course Spotlight. One person may think of privacy as being alone in a private space, such as their bedroom. Student data can help us monitor performance and appropriately and equitably allocate limited resources. Schools and districts should employ more than one of these approaches as it can be assumed that the community is diverse with different communication preferences. Considering the amount and sensitivity of the personal information collected, used, and maintained by schools and districts, establishing a robust data governance program is critical to protect student privacy and to ensure all stakeholders are engaged and invested in creating a culture of privacy. We encourage you to explore this site for additional updates, resources, analyses, and professional development materials. As such, schools and districts should seek to inform parents of their rights; effectively communicate school and district student privacy policies, procedures, and practices; and engage parents in the development, implementation, and reviewof student privacy strategies. To learn more about federal student privacy laws and your rights please see the short video to the right or explore these other resources: A Parent Guide to FERPA; An Eligible Student Guide to FERPA; PPRA General Guidance -Pupils and colleagues may not feel valued or able to keep their self-esteem if their private details are shared with others. Digital citizenship means students understand how to engage ethically online, think critically about the content and resources they view, and embrace a culture of privacy and security to protect their personal information. Avoid terms with negative connotations like "exploit" or "manipulate" to describe how data is used. In addition, we provide technical assistance to help schools and school districts safeguard information about students. This includes transparent communication about any monitoring, filtering, or blocking of online content and activities by the school or district, as well as expectations of appropriate use of technologies by students. Provide a feedback mechanism for educators, parents, and students. Find more general advice on effective communication strategies tailored by audience and ways to build trust in our Nothing to Hide Toolkit, developed by the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) in order to help Integrated Data Systems (IDS) and government leaders engage stakeholders and increase communities trust in the value of IDS. Provide notice and parents have the right to opt out (but check your specific state law first). This section provides a short overview explaining the concepts of student data, student privacy, and data governance, which are foundational for schools and districts as they seek to implement policies and communicate effectively about student privacy. Setting goals for your communications strategy will keep your message clear and consistent. Note: The following notice is designed to be adapted according to your school and/or district policies and practices, as well as student age and grade level. Our school/district may use online tools, websites, or applications that collect student data. These efforts also work to reduce privacy risks and to instill an appreciation for the value of student data to support student success. The cost for each secure assessment may not exceed the per-student cost of . 5. 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. Online privacy brings up a host of unique considerations and concerns, and in the digital context, many conflate student privacy with data security. Minor consent links to confidentiality because, when a young person accesses services under minor consent, those services . Establish separate computers or accounts for student use of the computer. Author (s): Carolyn Stone, Ed.D. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. Data help school and district leaders make informed decisions on how to allocate resources and best serve each student. Student privacy refers to the ethical and equitable collection, use, sharing, and maintenance of student data. If your school or district has not yet established a vetting and review process for edtech tools, school and district leaders should ensure that educators are equipped to evaluate the new educational technologies they bring into the classroom for legal compliance and other important student privacy protections. We hope you will use this toolkit to better understand the value of student data, inform privacy practices in an educational setting, raise awareness of the risks and challenges that come with increased data collection, take steps to help safeguard student information, and create a culture of privacy in your schools and districts. School and district leaders must actively listen to and address educator, parent, and student concerns by creating spaces designed to inform, educate, and address student privacy questions. Without a clearly articulated and well-executed data governance program, school and district leaders may face suspicion and opposition to student data use for legitimate educational purposes. While these tools are easily accessible and tempting to download, Id ask that you pause and check with [the school IT department/privacy officer] first. The guidance documents issued by SPPO address requirements of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA), and the Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information provisions under Section 8528 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The role of the school counselor regarding confidentiality is: To support the students' right to privacy and protect confidential information received from students, the family, guardians and staff members. Additionally, our school/district has a number of tools that collect data and are required for delivering instruction and other services to your child. Does the vendor state that the school is responsible for complying with the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)? This one is the easiest to see. 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. FPF frequently collaborates withF3 Laws eMatters legal team, whose expertise in the areas of edtech helps us to ensure the resources we provide to educators are legally compliant. Student engagement and participation also become more difficult to capture in an online setting. If there is an app that you would like to use that has not yet been vetted by our IT department, let us know so that we can consider it in future evaluations for use in classes. 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. Another person may associate privacy with being free from surveillance, whether by their parents, their schools, or the government. In addition to ensuring strong student privacy, safety, and security policies and practices are in place, this shift requires effective communication with stakeholders about student data collection and use. Why should you care about privacy and security? 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. In an online setting, it is justifiable that teachers and schools are turning to new tools and types of measurements, but this also means schools and teachers must set baseline expectations for parents and students. We also prioritize building trust and practicing transparency with the school community. The School Counselor's Role. These cookies do not store any personal information. You along with any parents that may have questions can access that policy at any time by. The example below was adapted from Montgomery County Public Schools Responsible Use of Technology Student Expectations. For instance, students may share screenshots or recordings from online classes on social media without the permission of their teachers and peers. The list of resources contained in this Excel spreadhseet includes all guidance documents issued by the Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO). Teachers also protect student privacy in the choices they make when using these tools. Responsible Use of Technology: Student Expectations, Office of the Chief Technology Officer, Montgomery County Public Schools. Jasmine Park, Juliana Cotto, Ann Waller Curtis, Carrie Klein, Anisha Reddy, Jim Siegl, Alexandra Sollberger, Jennifer Triplett, Amelia Vance, GOAL: Building and maintaining credibility and trust, GOAL: Educating about data collection, privacy, protections, and data use, GOAL: Demonstrating the impact of collected data on educational systems and individual students, GOAL: Alleviating concerns about how the school or district is using and protecting student data, GOAL: Gaining approval from decision makers on new data-driven approaches, GOAL: Increasing participation by educators and parents in student privacy learning sessions, Cambridge Public Schools (MA) Student Data Privacy. This includes managing their digital identities and reputations; engaging in positive, safe, legal, and ethical behavior online; and being aware of how their data is collected and used in the school environment. It may be a matter of keeping a student's name, password, or parent information private, or maybe assessment results and grades need to be kept confidential. Through this outreach, invite feedback and encourage participation from your audience to establish a respectful dialogue. With the introduction of these technologies and their unprecedented ability to collect and use data, the word privacy has been used as a proxy for talking about fairness and power. Our school/district cares deeply about protecting your privacy. Forum Guide to Data Governance, National Center for Education Statistics (June 2020). Open communication shows that the school or district is actively seeking to engage educators, parents, and students as partners in its efforts to better protect student privacy. Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services: Requirements and Best Practices, Privacy Technical Assistance Center, US Department of Education (February 2014). The beginning of the school year is a critical time to set clear expectations with parents around ethical and equitable practices for student privacy and online learning for the year ahead. 3. 1. While a bit obvious, more students doing better work is a sure sign of confidence. 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. If your school or district determines that administering social, emotional, and behavioral screeners are necessary in order to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and national events related to systemic racism on student wellbeing, be sure to notify parents and guardians of their rights, explain the purpose of the survey, describe what student data will be collected, and detail potential follow-up measures based on the results. 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. -Children and staff safety may be put at risk if details of their property and habits are shared publicly. Incorporate data and stories into local, state, and federal reporting. Creating procedures for compliance with the. Educators should know that under FERPA, schools are required to obtain parental consent to share information in a students education records, which is the case for most edtech tools, or qualify for an exception. Does the app collect personally identifiable information (PII)?
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