Protecting student data has never been more complex as school districts deploy multiple learning and communications platforms at once. IT leaders responsible for the data privacy say it’s a lot to handle.
That’s according to a new national survey of more than 400 edtech leaders responsible for safeguarding their district’s private data. The research underscores a need for additional support for IT leaders to adequately protect student information.
For instance, 60% of leaders cited time and staffing as their greatest barriers to improving data protection efforts, followed by:
- Guidance on federal laws (47%)
- State laws (46%)
- Privacy expertise (38%)
- Financial resources (36%)
Employee-related concerns also top their list of concerns. Eighty-nine percent of leaders label this issue as “extremely” or “very concerning,” including challenges managing behavior (76%), controlling the influx of free and low-cost classroom technologies (69%), enforcing policies (55%) and mandating privacy training (49%).
IT leaders themselves want more training. Nearly 90% of leaders say they oversee their district’s student privacy program. However, 73% say it’s not part of their job description and 17% have never received relevant privacy training. A quarter of those who received training paid for it out of pocket.
“Overall, the findings suggest that while district edtech leaders are committed to the work, the organizational scaffolding needed to develop, implement, and maintain a student data privacy program may not be in place across districts,” the report reads.
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The report offers some recommendations for leaders looking to address the concerns outlined in the report.
According to the research, administrators should establish a renewed leadership focus on student privacy. This includes elevating the importance of student data privacy work and promoting fundamental privacy and security policy development, policy enforcement, mandatory privacy training for all employees, and transparency about the privacy work with district community members.
Leaders can also support district edtech leaders by providing training and implementation guidance.
For more information, read the full report here.
