Data Privacy

Parents and guardians want assurances that personal information and data about their children are secure and protected by our school system. These questions are rising as we use the Internet, mobile apps, cloud computing, online learning and new technologies to deliver new education services. At our schools, we strive to be clear about what data we collect, how data support your child’s education and the safeguards in place to protect that data. Protecting personal information in secure and responsible ways is at the heart of our efforts to provide a richer and more dynamic learning experience for all students.

What Data do We Collect and Why?

School Operations

We collect data such as addresses and phone numbers, gender and age, as well as information to ensure student safety and accurate reporting to help run our school operations efficiently.

Measuring Progress and Participation of our Students

We collect data such as attendance, grades and participation in school-sponsored extra-curricular activities to enable students to succeed.

Improving the Education Program

We collect results from local, state and national assessments to provide teachers, administrators and parents important information about student, program and school performance and improve the education programs we offer.

Striving to Meet the Needs of Students

We collect surveys and other feedback to improve teaching and learning and address other issues important to students and their families.

How Do Education Data Support Student Success and School Improvement?

How is Education Data Protected?

We follow federal and state education privacy laws and adhere to privacy and security policies.

For example, the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) gives parents rights related to their children’s education records and personally identifiable information. Additional information is available from the U.S. Department of Education at http://studentprivacy.ed.gov/.

When we use an online service provider to process or store data, they also must adhere to certain federal and state and privacy laws. We also expect them to use current security protocols and technology.

Under FERPA, our vendors cannot use the education records we provide in any way that is not authorized by the school district. They cannot sell this data or allow others to access it except as we permit in accordance with federal and state education privacy laws.

Additionally, the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) prevents child-directed websites and apps from collecting certain personal information from anyone under 13 years of age without parental permission. Our school system may consent on behalf of parents in the education context when student information is collected for the school’s exclusive use and benefit and for no other commercial purpose.