Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA)
Effective July 1, 2021, school districts are required by the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA) to provide additional guarantees that student data is protected when collected by educational technology companies, and that data is used for beneficial purposes only (105 ILCS 85).
Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233 considers the privacy and online safety of our students to be of the utmost importance. We routinely safeguard student data collected within our networks and/or by online resources that we use within our school.
Our SOPPA-compliance approved resources are available to view here.
Teachers and staff utilize an internal process to submit resource compliance verification. The District regularly updates and verifies those resources, applications, and tools for SOPPA compliance.
Additional Information:
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) - Informational Video
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.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) - Informational Video
The primary goal of COPPA is to place parents in control over what information is collected from their young children online. COPPA was designed to protect children under age 13 while accounting for the dynamic nature of the Internet. The Rule applies to operators of commercial websites and online services (including mobile apps) directed to children under 13 that collect, use, or disclose personal information from children, and operators of general audience websites or online services with actual knowledge that they are collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under 13. The Rule also applies to websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information directly from users of another website or online service directed to children. Read more
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) - Informational Video
CIPA was enacted by Congress in 2000 to address concerns about children’s access to obscene or harmful content over the Internet. CIPA imposes certain requirements on schools or libraries that receive discounts for Internet access or internal connections through the E-rate program. Read more
Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA)
PPRA is intended to protect the rights of parents and students in two ways:
It seeks to ensure that schools and contractors make instructional materials available for inspection by parents if those materials will be used in connection with an ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation in which their children participate; and
It seeks to ensure that schools and contractors obtain written parental consent before minor students are required to participate in any ED-funded survey, analysis, or evaluation that reveals certain information.
PPRA applies to programs that receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education.