Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Understanding cyber liability insurance

[Editor’s Note: This article was first published on the TCEA TechNotes blog.]

Have you read the latest newsflash? School district data breaches are on the rise, and your school district’s student information system (SIS) data could be a prime target for hackers. The SIS contains records of minors, representing an unexploited, potential victim. Identity thieves are sharpening their digital knives for the feast. Let’s explore this topic from a cyber liability insurance perspective.

Framing the discussion

Keep these questions in mind as we step through this relevant topic.…Read More

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Data access is easier than ever, but is that a good thing?

Tactical student data privacy questions like “What can I do right now?” should be asked by all CIOs, teachers, administrators, and policymakers in this changing landscape of data access, student privacy, and interoperability. In a recent edWebinar, Dr. Larry Fruth, executive director and CEO of the Access 4 Learning (A4L) Community, and Jena Draper, founder and general manager at CatchOn, discussed the challenges school districts face with data access and student privacy. Dr. Fruth suggests that school districts hit the ground running by adding privacy components and security before it becomes a “What should I do right now?” situation. Draper says that school districts need to look at data access from all angles, from the outer layer of the infrastructure to the rogue apps used in classrooms, to create sound data access and student data privacy plans.

The data balancing act

Open access to data has the potential to violate student data privacy regulations, but closed access to data has the potential to lock everything down. The “sweet spot” of data access is critical in the environment where data is no longer used in a silo but used in data conversations around graduation rates, college readiness, and career pathways.

The challenge, as highlighted by Fruth, is how much data should be accessible to the stakeholders. If they have access to too much data, it will feel overwhelming, and if they don’t have enough access, they don’t feel empowered to do what they need to do. For student interoperability frameworks, Fruth explains that the goal is to create a simple data exchange across all the different applications in a digital ecosystem. The reality of interoperability is that data exchange can seem to be simple but is complex. However, no matter how involved and complicated the data management issues are, it needs to be managed, moved, and secured as school districts go through daily operations.…Read More

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5 different ways IT directors handle student data privacy

Student data privacy is a hot-button issue. In the last five years, according to Amelia Vance, director of education privacy & policy counsel at the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), over 600 bills on the topic have been introduced and 125 new laws have passed in about 40 states. “Unfortunately, the vast majority of those laws came with no resources, funding, or support to implement them. I give a lot of credit to the leading district CIOs and CTOs who have stepped up and fulfilled the promise of the laws,” says Vance, who also runs FERPA|Sherpa, the Education Privacy Resource Center that has loads of resources online.

Vance encourages district leaders to start by training every person in your district who has access to information about the importance of privacy and protecting that information. “Most of the issues that arise are because of human error,” she says. “Email attachments that shouldn’t be sent out get sent; web pages go live that shouldn’t; people forget to lock their computer.” Recently, she heard about a district that posted its school safety plans online before the school board meeting; no one noticed they included the private medical information of students and teachers who would need assistance in a school safety emergency.

In 2019, a lot of general privacy laws may pass that will unintentionally apply to schools. Vance suggests keeping an eye on any privacy bills that come up in your state because they may accidentally cover you and give you additional responsibilities. She says you can keep updated by Googling your state + consumer privacy act. You can also bookmark the FPF and FERPA|Sherpa websites, as they’ll be keeping track of the news.…Read More

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10 big findings about ed-tech privacy

Student information privacy is a hot-button topic, and a new Common Sense Education survey shows a widespread lack of transparency and inconsistent privacy and security practices among ed-tech applications and services.

Over a three-year period, researchers evaluated 100 popular ed-tech products and services and found that just 10 percent of those applications or services met minimum criteria for transparency and quality.

While the findings don’t necessarily indicate that vendors are doing anything unethical, they could mean that the application or service is violating federal or state laws, depending on how it is used.…Read More

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Beware: Your SIS might not be protecting student data

Obligatory CYA note: This article is presented as an “insider’s look” at how SIS security works and the common pitfalls associated with the “convenience vs. compliance” dilemma. The author is not a lawyer and the piece should not be misconstrued as legal advice.

When FERPA was signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974, “accessibility” meant “the key to the filing cabinet,” and an “information request” was either an in-person conversation or a bundle of paperwork.

Now, nearly 50 years later, the entire context of the law has changed. Educational records have found a new (digital) home. Efficiency and accessibility are basic expectations, and the amount of red tape required to perform basic duties is shrinking all the time.…Read More

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5 things every K-12 employee should do to protect student data

Student data privacy and security are top priorities for edtech leaders. When asked to rate the importance of these topics, 68 percent of respondents said they were more critical than the prior year, according to an annual survey of K-12 chief technology officers from the Consortium for School Networking.

While IT leaders in education have their hands full trying to protect the student information stored and accessed in the software and data systems used by their schools, the actions of other employees throughout the district can support—or undermine—these efforts.

Here are five practical steps that every school or district employee should take to keep student data from being compromised.…Read More

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5 critical student data questions for schools

U.S. Department of Education issues guidance on student data privacy, use

student-dataStudent security and data privacy are top concerns for today’s students, and now federal guidelines are helping to shed light on the often confusing issue of data security.

Speaking at the Common Sense Media Privacy Zone Conference on Feb. 24, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said keeping student data secure and using it for its intended purposes are top priorities.

To that end, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) on Feb. 25 released guidance for vendors that work with schools to store student data. Part of ED’s efforts will involve helping educators understand how technology and data interact and how privacy issues surround data issues.…Read More

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Student data privacy: The role of policymakers and schools

Federal laws provide important safeguards for protecting data and preserving student privacy

data-privacyAs states move to collect, store, and interpret student data, education leaders should be familiar with important federal laws that safeguard student data and protect student privacy.

Efforts by the U.S. Department of Education officials and the Data Quality Campaign to create clear-cut explanations for how student data will be protected, and how privacy plays an important role, are regular parts of data discussions. A number of federal laws and resources are designed to help protect data privacy, while at the same time ensuring data is used to inform teaching and learning.

On Nov. 19, DQC will release Data for Action 2013, the ninth in a report series detailing state efforts to use and safeguard student data. A primer on student data and privacy may be useful for educators and policymakers in the interim.…Read More

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Three state approaches to student data privacy

Administrators must balance student data privacy concerns with transparency and action

data-privacyAs school reform efforts receive nationwide attention, collecting and using student data plays an important role in improving teaching and learning in today’s classrooms. But accompanying student data are conversations about data privacy.

Concerns about how education leaders use and protect student data abound, and some states and state education leaders are making a concerted effort to ensure that adequate protections are in place for student data, while at the same time making sure that educators are able to use data to inform and improve instruction.

During a Connected Educator Month webinar sponsored by the Data Quality Campaign (DQC), state education leaders described their efforts to safeguard student data with privacy measures and practices.…Read More

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