The rights of transgender students in K12 schools became explicitly clear in a directive issued by the U.S. Department of Education and Department of Justice in May. Schools must let transgender students use the restrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender identity, not what’s listed on birth certificates, the Obama administration says. “This […]
As of April, 31 states have introduced 94 different student data privacy bills, according to the nonprofit Data Quality Campaign. The governors of New Hampshire, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia approved the first student data privacy laws of 2016, with each law focusing on data governance, transparency and leadership: New Hampshire’s HB 301 establishes a […]
Platforms and apps that provide parents direct communication and unfiltered access to grades, schedules, school news and emergency announcements offer better access than ever before. Many districts keep parents informed with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media, but more sophisticated tools have emerged as technology has evolved. Platforms and apps that provide parents direct […]
Parents and educators hailed FERPA, COPPA and the Student Privacy Pledge as significant steps toward securing student data. But the Electronic Frontier Foundation believes that Google, a prominent player in edtech, is already violating those measures. In December, the foundation, a nonprofit digital rights group based in San Francisco, filed a complaint with the Federal […]
A convergence of market maturity, increased availability of high-capacity bandwidth and a track record of security has more K12 districts trusting their mission-critical administrative software to the cloud. In the cloud computing model, districts contract with a provider for on-demand access to a shared pool of resources like networks, servers, storage, applications and services. Districts […]
Students three years from now will use two or three mobile devices in the classroom compared to the current ratio of one device to every two students, according to a survey of districts by the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). The steady decline in cost and expanding capabilities of mobile devices make them more viable […]
Three years ago, Tom Brabson, business manager of Plain Local Schools in northeastern Ohio, heard the superintendent of a district 60 miles away describe how his life had changed in 22 seconds. In those seconds, a troubled 17-year-old sprayed the Chardon High School cafeteria with bullets, killing three fellow students and creating widespread panic. Since […]
How can districts use the Common Core-aligned assessments to improve education if the results won’t be available until later this fall, after the current school year is well underway? That’s the question district administrators have been asking themselves for months, ever since millions of American students took the first round of Common Core-aligned assessments earlier […]
Companies that collect student data would be barred from using or selling it for anything other than educational purposes, under a law proposed in January by President Barack Obama. Called the Student Digital Privacy Act, it would also prevent companies from using data to target advertising to students. The legislation is modeled on a comprehensive […]
The increasing shift to online learning and collaboration has created new concerns around student privacy. Keeping data as secure in the cloud as it would be in a locked file cabinet requires communication, diligence and strong policies. “Privacy is not a new issue but it certainly has risen to the top in part because so […]
