Privacy Laws

The laws that address student privacy and protection include the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), and the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). An overview of each of these laws can be found below.

FERPA is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. Most student record data (progress, behavioral, health, etc.) is considered confidential and cannot be disclosed without parent consent. Under the law, parents have the right to:

• Inspect student education records held by the school.
• Request corrections to inaccurate or misleading information.
• Opt out of any directory information being released to third parties.

School Board policy 347 addresses student records, outlining what is considered directory data vs. confidential data. The following form allows parents to choose which directory information can and cannot be released. This form is required every year.

CIPA was enacted to address concerns about children's access to obscene or harmful content online. Schools or libraries that receive discounts for Internet access through the E-rate program are subject to these requirements. Schools must have an Internet safety policy that includes protection measures that 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).

School Board Policy 363..2 - Responsible, Acceptable, amd Safe Use of Tehcnology Resources addresses safe and responsible use of technology resources.

The district Internet access is filtered by two products called Lightspeed and Securly, which allow us to manage access to various Internet resources.

COPPA is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission. The goal is to allow parents to have control over what information is collected online from their children under the age of 13. This applies to any website operators that collect children's personal information, whether at home or school. This is why many sites (including social media like Facebook and Instagram) require that users be over the age of 13.

The law recognizes that schools can act as a parent's agent to consent to the collection of student information on the parent's behalf. This is limited to to an educational context, where the information is collected for the use and benefit of the school and for no other commercial purpose. For example, a student's name, grade level, and login information may be collected by services like Dreambox, Raz Kids, or Middlebury in order for the student to use the product. This information is for that educational purpose only.

The Wisconsin DPI has entered into a contract with Google to ensure the terms of service comply with COPPA and protect student data while still providing access to Google Suite for Education (GSFE).

In addition, parents have the option at the beginning of each school year to determine permission for student use of GSFE. This form is provided during the online registration process.