programs Approved

Pickerington Local School District (“PLSD”) takes the protection of student data very seriously and adopts all reasonable measures to protect personally identifiable information (“PII”) about students. 

The following are educational digital content websites that provide academic programs but require student data to be loaded into them.  The PLSD EdTech team reads and evaluates each program's privacy policy before PLSD staff is permitted to use them. The following websites/programs have been approved or rejected solely based on their student data privacy policies.  Staff may use the approved version of these sites and roster their students.  Per Board Policy (Staff Acceptable Use 7540.01 and Policy 2520 Selection of Instructional Materials and Equipment), staff may not purchase programs.

Please contact the Instructional Technology Department if you have questions about Pickerington Local School District's Student Data Privacy.

District purchased programs (PREFERRED) 

free or building purchased programs

Rejected Programs/Websites

Data Privacy Laws

Districts must following the following federal, state and local laws:

• Child's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) - Schools and libraries subject to CIPA may not receive the discounts offered by the E-rate program unless they certify that they have an Internet safety policy that includes technology protection measures. The protection measures must block or filter Internet access to pictures that are: (a) obscene; (b) child pornography; or (c) harmful to minors (for computers that are accessed by minors). Schools subject to CIPA have two additional certification requirements: 1) their Internet safety policies must include monitoring the online activities of minors; and 2) as required by the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act, they must provide for educating minors about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms, and cyberbullying awareness and response.

• Child's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) - COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age.

• Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) - The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act Amendment - Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to issue regulations requiring video services to prevent child pornography.

• General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) - Only impacts those schools in the EU. 

• Ohio Senate Bill 29 - Enhances student data privacy by restricting the monitoring of school-issued devices. Schools and technology providers are prohibited from tracking students' locations, monitoring audio or visual features, or tracking online activities unless for specific purposes such as instruction, technical support, or emergencies. Additionally, the bill mandates parental notification prior to such monitoring.