Student Data Privacy

computer with lock on top

Important Data Privacy Laws

  • FERPA (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act) - governs information in a student's education record, restricting access and use of student information

  • COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) - restricts the collection of personal information form children under 13 by companies operating websites, games, mobile apps and digital services that are directed to children or that collect personal information from individuals known to be children

  • CIPA (Children's Internet Protection Act) - imposes certain requirements on schools that utilize the federal E-Rate program to receive discounts for internet access and other technology services, or that receive federal grants for other technology expenses

  • SOPPA (Student Online Personal Protection Act) - guarantees that student data is protected when collected by educational technology companies and that data is used for beneficial purposes only. 

What is SOPPA?

What happens to the student data that we send to a third party vendor? Information like names, birthdates, etc may be provided by Smithton to a third party - like Google, Seesaw, Brainpop, etc. What protections do those companies have in place to ensure that our students data is not sold or freely given to others? This is what SOPPA looks to address.

As part of SOPPA, these companies must enter into Data Privacy Agreements (DPA) with each district they work with. These agreements outline what data is stored, how it is protected, what the company can/cannot do with the data and what they will do in the event of a data breach.

As a parent/guardian, you will will have greater control over your child's personal information.

Ensuring student safety is important to SCCSD 130 and establishing protocols compliant with this legislation will enable us to do so consistently.

To support the new SOPPA regulations, we have developed resources to support new requirements, protocols and regulations. This includes links to view data breach notifications and information about vendors who receive our student data.

Resources