What is soppa?

Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA)

Effective July 1, 2021, school districts will be 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 (official statute 105 ILCS 85).

DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS: Below is a high-level overview of the new requirements. Please refer to our SOPPA website for more specific information regarding each element.

School districts must:

1. Annually post a list of all operators of online services or applications utilized by the district.

2. Annually post all data elements that the school collects, maintains, or discloses to any entity. This information must also explain how the school uses the data, and to whom and why it discloses the data

3. Post contracts for each operator within 10 days of signing.

4. Annually post subcontractors for each operator.

5. Post the process for how parents can exercise their rights to inspect, review and correct information maintained by the school, operator, or ISBE

6. Post data breaches within 10 days and notify parents within 30 days.

7. Create a policy for who can sign contracts with operators.

8. Designate a privacy officer to ensure compliance.

9. Maintain reasonable security procedures and practices. Agreements with vendors in which information is shared must include a provision that the vendor maintains reasonable security procedures and practices.

Next Steps:

A SOPPA committee has been established to collaboratively review the new laws and regulations regarding student data privacy. We are actively reviewing current educational technology systems that collect student personal information as well as collecting signed agreements with our current technology partners. This committee is also reviewing a suitable workflow for staff to request new educational technologies that will meet the strict guidelines of SOPPA. Further communication will be sent to staff over the next few weeks that outline important changes to be implemented for the next school year.

Here is a link to a webinar for what SOPPA means to teachers that I found informative. You have to "register" for it, but it is free and on-demand.

https://ltcillinois.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zs_cniRiQe2pPVKt8f7nRg