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Student Data and Privacy
Student Data and Privacy
As part of your student's education, the Harlem School District partners with education technology (“ed tech”) companies to provide services such as digital curriculum, educational resources, and analytical tools. Harlem School District is committed to protecting the information security and privacy of our students in accordance with the latest version of the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA). SOPPA is the data privacy law that regulates student data collection and use by schools, the Illinois State Board of Education, and ed tech vendors.
On August 23, 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed into law an amended version of SOPPA that gives parents greater control over student data. Among the changes is a new requirement to enact breach notifications that are available to the public. SOPPA also requires Illinois school districts to provide additional guarantees that student data is protected when collected by ed tech companies and used for beneficial purposes only. The law is effective July 1, 2021.
Before establishing a relationship with a company, Harlem School District verifies that the vendor is compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) and SOPPA. The District will only provide the minimum amount of data required to maintain service functionality for each vendor.
Parents will be notified within 30 days of any data breach affecting more than 10% of the students.
View a list of all ed tech vendors with whom Harlem School District has established Data Privacy Agreements. This list also includes the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy of each application utilized by the district. In the event of a conflict between their posted Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, the National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) takes precedence.
Not all applications will be used by all students at all grade levels and directory information is only shared with an application when utilized by the student or classroom.
Any new vendor Harlem School District establishes a relationship with will be posted to the District Resource Listing within ten (10) days.
Use of Educational Technologies; Student Data Privacy and Security
Educational technologies used in the District shall further the objectives of the District’s educational program, as set forth in Board policy 6:10, Educational Philosophy and Objectives, align with the curriculum criteria in policy 6:40, Curriculum Development, and/or support efficient District operations. The Superintendent shall ensure that the use of educational technologies in the District meets the above criteria.
The District and/or vendors under its control may need to collect and maintain data that personally identifies students in order to use certain educational technologies for the benefit of student learning or District operations.
Federal and State law govern the protection of student data, including school student records and/or covered information. The sale, rental, lease, or trading of any school student records or covered information by the District is prohibited. Protecting such information is important for legal compliance, District operations, and maintaining the trust of District stakeholders, including parents, students and staff.
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Illinois Student Records Act afford parents/guardians and students over 18 years of age (“eligible students”) certain rights with respect to the student’s education records. Read more about the rights of parents and students in the parent-student handbook.
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