CIPA--The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) was enacted by Congress in 2000 to address concerns about children's access to obscene or harmful content over the Internet.

COPPA--COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.

FERPA--The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

PPRA--The Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA) is a federal law that affords certain rights to parents of minor students with regard to surveys that ask questions of a personal nature. Briefly, the law requires that schools obtain written consent from parents before minor students are required to participate in any U.S. Department of Education funded survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals information concerning the following areas:

1. Political affiliations;
2. Mental and psychological problems potentially embarrassing to the student and his/her family;
3. Sex behavior and attitudes;
4. Illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating and demeaning behavior;
5. Critical appraisals of other individuals with whom respondents have close family relationships;
6. Legally recognized privileged or analogous relationships, such as those of lawyers, physicians, and ministers;
7. Religious practices, affiliations, or beliefs of the student or student's parent*; or
8. Income (other than that required by law to determine eligibility for participation in a program or for receiving financial assistance under such program.)

Parkway currently has a list of approved apps and extensions, but getting approval is often times just a quick call or request to the help desk. In one week alone, Parkway teachers and students use over 800 different online applications, applications which may or may not be protecting student privacy and data. We, as teachers of students under 13, have to be really careful about which online tools we are using with our students AND about accounts we are asking them to create in order to access 2.0 tools. The tools should adhere to CIPA, COPPA, FERPA, and PPRA.

Across the district, we (Parkway's teachers) are pushing out a large variety of digital content to students. We push out whatever we want in most cases because Parkway doesn't have a plan to select, organize, and deliver the multiple media types that support our various curricula. Our use of technology and lack of structures and processes is currently referred to as "The Wild West." A few things are organized in Clever for quick access. Students are having to go to too many places to access all of the digital content their teachers are using, and by doing so may not be adhering to the federal laws listed above. Action must be taken. A Digital Content Strategy is needed.

Parkway hopes to receive the TrustedLearningEnvironment Seal from TrustedLearning.org after the Digital Content Strategy is developed and implemented.

See the few Missouri school districts that have earned this seal here. The Building of a Digital Content Strategy is currently underway and discussions about such have been happening at IAT meetings.