Optimize Student Data Protection with this EdPrivacy Checklist

Now is a great time to review your current technologies and ensure your districts' privacy efforts are in order. Make sure that you are taking full advantage of the data privacy and security benefits that EdPrivacy provides. Use the following checklist to set your district up for a successful school year:

____Review the digital resources currently used in your district and update your approved technology list.

• Understand which online technologies are currently in-use in your district. Review the Privacy Quality Score for each application to ensure compliance with COPPA, FERPA, state and local privacy laws. 
• Revise your approved technology list to only include resources that have been vetted by EdPrivacy and approved for student use. Remove all old or unneeded resources from the list.

____ Determine which technologies are safe for students under 13 and monitor vendor privacy policies for changes. 

• Check the privacy dashboard to see if you’ve received any messages informing you of a change to a vendor privacy policy. If so, determine whether the change threatens student safety.
• If changes affect personally identifiable information (PII), decide whether the application should remain in the curriculum or should be replaced with a solution that is better at protecting student privacy. 

____Vet new online resources for privacy BEFORE approving them for student use.

• When adopting new technologies for your district, check the Privacy Quality Score for each new application, website, and digital resource. Request privacy reviews for all new EdTech tools considered for the classroom and receive results within 24-48 weekday hours. 
• Add only resources that have been vetted for privacy to your approved technology list. Prioritize those technologies that do not collect any student data and are compliant with COPPA, FERPA, state, and local privacy requirements.

____Communicate your privacy management efforts to parents and your district community.

• Inform your district community of your data privacy management efforts. Publicly post your approved technology list to your district web page.
• Send parents a direct link to view your approved technology list and inform them of the efforts you are making to protect sensitive student information.

____Train new staff on EdPrivacy.

• Get your team up to speed right away! Share these short training videos with new team members to help acquaint them with the EdPrivacy database and encourage existing users to review the training videos as a quick refresher.
• Consider meeting briefly with your entire team to emphasize the importance of student data privacy management in your school district.

The start of the year is a great time to review vendor data privacy policies, reaffirm district privacy management procedures, update your approved technology list, and communicate your privacy management efforts to parents and your district community. Follow this simple checklist to enhance your data protection program and get the year off to a smart start.

Questions? Please contact us!