Virtual Learning Resources
News from the Student Privacy Policy Office
The Student Privacy Policy Office (SPPO) at the U.S. Department of Education wanted to share some of their important resources with districts. Below are highlights from their email newsletter. If you wish to receive their email newsletters, you can subscribe here.
Virtual Learning Resources
For nearly a year we’ve assembled resources related to student privacy, virtual learning, and the COVID-19 pandemic. These resources can be found on our website, including the September 2020 blog post by SPPO Director Kevin Herms on disclosing information about cases of COVID-19.
Additional Resources
We want to take this opportunity to highlight some of our existing resources that have been identified as particularly helpful for the community.
First, we have a series of documents regarding student privacy and online service providers, some of which are highlighted in the virtual learning documents mentioned above. Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services: Requirements and Best Practices identifies applicable exceptions under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), including the school official exception. This resource, while originally developed for online educational services, is also applicable for virtual learning tools and includes best practices for safeguarding student education records under FERPA. Protecting Student Privacy While Using Online Educational Services: Model Terms of Service is a checklist to help evaluate online educational apps.
Second, we have two videos that are worth revisiting if you haven’t seen them for a while:
- Email and Student Privacy discusses how email is an easy way to communicate with students and parents but comes with inherent risk. Prior to sending an email, it is important to evaluate the risk associated with sending student information. This video walks you through best practices on how to safely email student information.
- The A-B-Cs of Student Directory Information outlines how FERPA allows schools and districts to designate certain basic student information as directory information, and share that information without consent if certain additional requirements are met. This video describes why a school would want to use designated student directory information and the types of information that fall into this category. It also explains the process that schools and districts must adhere to when designating directory information.
Third, a new section of our website provides a curated selection of resources related to data security. While FERPA does not require institutions to adopt specific security controls, security threats can obviously pose a significant risk for student privacy. This page is a portal to recent PTAC guidance and best practice resources for the educational community to use to enhance the security of their information systems.