In addition to the reaffirming purpose for federal and state laws to protect student privacy - Personally Identifiable Information (PII) at the basic and common sense level, it was critical to understand how words defined in the “Terms of Service” (TOS) of advertised online educational services or app, can put at high risk how the privacy of students and families can be compromised if close attention is not paid to what is written. Federal laws such as FERPA and COPPA just to name a few, in addition to Directory Informational and School Official Exceptions--serve as district and school IT safeguards through implemented policies and procedures as well as contracts; to enforce service transparency and accountability of potential educational service providers (along with subcontractors that help provide company service), to hopefully receive a blue “Use Responsibly” approval for student use.
