Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA)

LASEC utilizes Education Frameworks for SOPPA and FEPA

Protecting student data privacy requires careful and secure data handling to meet the requirements of FERPA and COPPA. The FTC and the U.S. Department of Education, the agencies that oversee these laws, recommend thorough review and consideration of third party technologies to ensure proper treatment of sensitive student information.

Reading the privacy policy and terms of use agreement for each online service provider is an important step in protecting student information. Understanding which third party technologies are currently in-use in the district, and determining which operators have access to sensitive student information are also necessary actions to proactively protect student data privacy.

  • Privacy recommendations for school officials and district administrators:
  • Have policies and procedures in place to evaluate and approve proposed online technologies.
  • Acquaint yourself with any applicable local, state and federal privacy regulations.
  • Know your rights and obligations under each respective law.
  • Conduct regular audits to determine which online technologies are in-use in your district.
  • Ascertain which service providers have access to student information.
  • Be transparent with parents and students.
  • Understand when parental consent is necessary.  
  • Questions to ask when determining whether an online technology is safe for use in the classroom:
  • Does the website or online service collect PII from individuals under 13?
  • Does the service provider have a privacy policy publicly posted and does it comply with COPPA?
  • Does the operator need to obtain verifiable consent before collecting personal information?
  • Are you able to act as the parents’ agent in the consent process?
  • Have you honored parental rights with respect to personal information collected from their kids?
  • Are there reasonable procedures in place to protect the privacy of student PII?

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds from the U.S. Department of Education. FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children’s education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level.

Resources: 

Public Technology List Page

Illinois Student Data Privacy Laws