Parents: Two ways to ask about your students’ data. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents: Two ways to ask about your students’ data. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

PARENTS: TWO WAYS TO ASK ABOUT YOUR STUDENTS’ DATA.

Parents, help fill in this FERPA Project Map for the folks at The Student Data Privacy Project.

https://www.studentdataprivacyproject.com/ferpa-project-map

1. This FERPA Map project

is sponsored by our friends at the The Student Data Privacy Project.  Their goal is to highlight the shortcomings of FERPA with regard to protecting student privacy. They state, “We would love to have parents in all 50 states send a letter to their District requesting their child’s data.”  You can click on their website here to request their  FERPA template  letter.  When you send your letter to your district, please copy us, info@studentprivacymatters.org  on your emails to your district. 

2. It’s time we KNOW what data these edtech apps are collecting and how they are being used. 

We at the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy launched our own App Survey in January, for Data Privacy Day 2021. We are researching which edtech apps schools are asking students to use and whether they are sufficiently protective of children’s privacy.  You can take our App Survey here.  

Please let us know what online apps and programs your district or school is using, and check to see if they have been transparent about their privacy policies.  Your name and district will be kept confidential. Thank you to the MANY parents and educators who have already completed this App Survey.  Please continue to share and we will let you know the results soon.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at info@studentprivacymatters.org  

 Parents: Two ways to ask about your students’ data. | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents of Disabled Students: Do NOT Grant College Board Unlimited Access to Your Child’s Sensitive Information | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Parents of Disabled Students: Do NOT Grant College Board Unlimited Access to Your Child’s Sensitive Information | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

PARENTS OF DISABLED STUDENTS: DO NOT GRANT COLLEGE BOARD UNLIMITED ACCESS TO YOUR CHILD’S SENSITIVE INFORMATION

We recently received a query from a Chicago parent whose child has a disability, and was seeking an accommodation when taking a College Board test. Her child’s high school asked her to sign a SSD Accommodation Consent form allowing her school to disclose her child’s disability records, as well as “any other information in the school’s custody that the College Board requests for the purpose of determining my eligibility for testing accommodations on College Board tests“.  The form also grants the “College Board permission “to discuss my disability and needs with school personnel and other professionals.” 

The Chicago parent was concerned with these overly broad permissions and crossed out portions that she disagreed with. Unfortunately for this parent, she subsequently discovered that her child’s previous high school had apparently already released confidential information to the College Board without asking for her consent.  

We wonder if this has happened to other parents. Have parents been asked to sign this form authorizing the school to release their children’s highly sensitive disability information, or worse, have CONTINUE READING: Parents of Disabled Students: Do NOT Grant College Board Unlimited Access to Your Child’s Sensitive Information | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Online proctoring services pose privacy concerns for remote learning - Vox

Online proctoring services pose privacy concerns for remote learning - Vox

How teachers [sic] are sacrificing student privacy to stop cheating

Surveillance software for remote learning is drawing criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers.

As the fall semester began at the University of Nevada, Reno, psychology professor Mark Lescroart faced an increasingly common dilemma for teachers: How to prevent his newly remote students from cheating on the quizzes and exams he’d designed to be taken in class with supervision.

“I have been uncomfortable with the idea that cheating is pretty easy when you’re online,” Lescroart told Recode in October.

One possible solution his university provided was Proctorio, an online proctoring service that uses machine learning. But Lescroart didn’t like the prospect of third-party software recording and analyzing his students in their homes. Ultimately, he decided that violating their privacy was worse than leaving a potential cheater uncaught.

But many teachers around the country have come to a different conclusion. As online education has become the norm in the Covid-19 pandemic, they’ve opted to use services like Proctorio. The services have ignited controversy, too. Privacy advocates hate them, and students have protested, starting petitions and accusing the services of being invasive, discriminatory, and inaccurate.

In December, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) accused five online test proctoring services, including Proctorio, of unfair and deceptive trade practices in a complaint filed with the Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. EPIC also informed the five companies that it is preparing to file a lawsuit unless they change their practices. Several US senators have also recently written to the companies producing these tools to request more information about privacy, bias, and accessibility concerns raised by their tools.

Some educators have spoken out against this tech or, like Lescroart, have opted not to use it. But for the most part, the schools that use the software haven’t budged, citing the importance of maintaining academic integrity.

“All these things are kind of predicated on a relationship where academic dishonesty is CONTINUE READING: Online proctoring services pose privacy concerns for remote learning - Vox

How students should be protected from surveillance during remote learning | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

How students should be protected from surveillance during remote learning | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

HOW STUDENTS SHOULD BE PROTECTED FROM SURVEILLANCE DURING REMOTE LEARNING

December 2020

Endorsed by Access Living, ACLU of Illinois, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Children’s Screen Time Action Network, Civitas ChildLaw Center, Hartlieb & Horste, LLC, Illinois Families for Public Schools, Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public EducationDownloadable as a Full document | or a one-page Summary

Many US public schools have been operating remotely since March, either full-time or part-time as a result of the Covid pandemic.  And with infection rates steeply increasing in the US, the timing of any return to fully in-person schooling remains uncertain.

The use of technology was widespread even before this spring. Now its use is nearly universal. But tech use should not impinge on students’ right to privacy and access to schooling.

In a recent national survey, 60% of educators said students would face negative consequences for having cameras off.   However, students should never be forced to choose between maintaining their privacy and receiving an education .  Moreover, surveillance does not equal safety.

Surveillance can be especially stressful for disadvantaged students, CONTINUE READING: How students should be protected from surveillance during remote learning | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Big Brother Is Watching Your Child

CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Big Brother Is Watching Your Child

FL: Big Brother Is Watching Your Child

Eyebrows shot up around the country this week as the Tampa Bay Times reported on how the Pasco County Sheriff's Office keeps a secret list of "at-risk" kids who could “fall into a life of crime." Creating the list involves the office collecting and factoring a whole bunch of different you-probably-thought-they-were-confidential records, including records from the school district and from the state's Department of Children and Families. 

"We have an agreement with the Sheriff's Office," the superintendent said in an interview with the Times. "The agreement requires them to use (the data) for official law enforcement purposes. I have to assume that's exactly what they are using it for."

Low grades? Absenteeism? Violence in the home? You may well be flagged as a possible future criminal. The Sheriff's Office has a whole manual. And a list, with 420 names on it. And none of the families connected to the names knows a thing about it. This is not a targeted search, where someone is concerned about Pat McStudent; this is a blanket sweep of the entire list of records from the various institutions.

Mark Lieberman at EdWeek did some checking to see if this practice is illegal (if you're old enough, you may remember when FERPA protected students from this kind of thing). The answer seems to be CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Big Brother Is Watching Your Child

NYC Educator: Showing Faces (or Not) in Remote Instruction

NYC Educator: Showing Faces (or Not) in Remote Instruction

Showing Faces (or Not) in Remote Instruction

This year, our school has asked students to show their faces during remote instruction. This is a large improvement for those of us out here doing the work. Some say this is an intrusion on student privacy. There are workarounds, though, for students uncomfortable with showing their faces or homes. Students can use virtual backgrounds, and many do. For now at least, they're also free to come to our building and use school computers.

Some of my students don't show their entire faces. Some show only their foreheads. Others show half or less of their profiles. While I'd prefer to see their entire faces, I'm good with their preferences. At least I know they're there. It's difficult, of course, to get to know students you can't see. If they are available, and if they respond to questions, I can settle for whatever they're comfortable with.

It was very difficult last year looking at all avatars. You never know what students are doing, or not doing, while they're hiding. Are they listening to you? Are they playing video games? Sleeping? Having a wild party in their home? Without even inviting you? Your guess is as good as mine. Last year, when we didn't ask students to turn on cameras, virtually none of them showed their faces. You'd ask a question and  likely as not get nothing back.Why bother doing anything once your computer is turned on?

This was very disconcerting to me. In my physical classroom, I walk around everywhere, startling students who are lost in space. I'll suddenly raise my voice to a ridiculous level while passing a student whose head is down. I'll intentionally trip over something and draw a sleepy kid's attention along with that of everyone else. I'll essentially say or do anything to get kids on track.

Of course, when students don't show their faces, I have no option. I'm the teacher just sitting at the teacher CONTINUE READING: NYC Educator: Showing Faces (or Not) in Remote Instruction

Questions raised as to whether NYC DOE is protecting student privacy | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

Questions raised as to whether NYC DOE is protecting student privacy | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

Questions raised as to whether NYC DOE is protecting student privacy

Chalkbeat also reported on Sen. Hoylman’s letter today.

NY State Senator Brad Hoylman sent a letter yesterday to the Chancellor, asking questions about whether the personal student data that is being collected and processed by the many online programs acquired by the DOE is sufficiently protected from breach or abuse.

According to the UFT, “The DOE has informed schools that for SY 2020-21, they must have a shared, inclusive and digital curriculum in all core subject areas” in order to implement remote learning. We have now amassed a list of about one hundred of these digital programs, many of which were hurriedly acquired by DOE, along with links to their privacy grades from Commonsense Media, if available, along with some clarifying comments. These grades are based upon their publicly available privacy policies, some of which do not appear to comply with the state law because they use data for commercial or marketing purposes and/or have weak security  provisions.

We gathered the list from the DOE and UFT websites, as well as our parent/teacher survey.

Here’s a summary of what the NY State student privacy law and regulations require; more information is available on the NYSED website here. Though the law was originally passed in March of 2014, it took CONTINUE READING: Questions raised as to whether NYC DOE is protecting student privacy | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

A Privacy Blueprint for Biden | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

A Privacy Blueprint for Biden | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

A PRIVACY BLUEPRINT FOR BIDEN

Privacy And Digital Rights For All

The weakening of The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Covid19 rush to usher in virtual learning and edtech in place of in-person learning, have created a perfect storm for student data collection and tracking. Students are increasingly subjected to edtech data collection, profiling, and surveillance as a condition of attending a public school. We call on the next administration to protect children and begin implementing these important recommendations within the first 100 days of office.

Leading privacy and civil rights advocates recently called on the next U.S. administration to make protecting digital privacy a top priority. The press release signed by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Digital Democracy, Color of Change, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, Electronic Privacy Information Center, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, Parent Coalition for Student Privacy, Public Citizen, and U.S. PIRG states:

“The Biden administration and the next Congress should make protecting digital privacy a top priority, and 10 leading privacy, civil rights and consumer organizations today released a memo of recommendations for executive actions on Day One, actions during the first 100 days and legislation.

“The United States is facing an unprecedented privacy and data justice crisis,” the blueprint memo reads. “We live in a world of constant data collection where companies track our every CONTINUE READING: A Privacy Blueprint for Biden | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

What happens when there are school data breaches?

What happens when there are school data breaches?

What happens when private student information leaks

Congressional watchdog report counts breaches of Social Security numbers and health records at schools

ow vulnerable is student data at U.S. public schools? That’s a critical question now that many, if not most, of the nation’s 51 million students are learning online at least some of the time.

Congressional watchdogs recently attempted to get a handle on the cyber security problem in schools. In a report publicly released in October 2020, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) counted 99 school data breaches over the past four years, from July 2016 to May 2020, that compromised the personal information of thousands of students in kindergarten through high school.

Attacks by cyber criminals were rare, the GAO found. More common were unintentional leaks in which private information, such as health records and telephone numbers, were accidentally made public. Students were responsible for more than a quarter of the breaches; their most frequent motive was changing grades.

The GAO relied on a private database of cyber attacks and leaks collected by Doug Levin of EdTech Strategies, a consulting firm. That’s because there’s no federal requirement for school districts to report data breaches. Most states have data breach notification laws but they vary a lot and there’s no obligation for state agencies to disclose them publicly. So the GAO turned to Levin’s K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center, which has been collecting press clips about school data breaches from around the country and monitoring the states that do publicly report, such as Texas.

However, Levin’s own analysis of the data he shared with the GAO arrived at different totals. He counted 458 data breaches in school districts; 315 involved the unauthorized release of student data. That’s more than four times greater. Levin documented that more than a million student records CONTINUE READING: What happens when there are school data breaches?

When it Comes to Cameras in Virtual Classrooms, Compromise Over Compliance - Philly's 7th Ward

When it Comes to Cameras in Virtual Classrooms, Compromise Over Compliance - Philly's 7th Ward

WHEN IT COMES TO CAMERAS IN VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS, COMPROMISE OVER COMPLIANCE

For me, my home is a sacred place; not only because I am a person of faith but also because my home is an intimate and safe space where my relationships, culture and humanity is nurtured, affirmed and celebrated. I like to believe that my wife and children think the same thing.

Generally speaking, I never invite strangers into my home, but there are times when doing so was necessary. Usually, those times involved a broken appliance that needed to either be repaired or delivered. What is important to note is that I had to invite them to my home; they couldn’t come in without my permission. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, my children’s classmates and teachers are guests in my home each day via classroom zoom meetings… and I didn’t invite them.

The pandemic has pushed educators and families to innovate and adapt; this includes turning homes into educational spaces for remote or hybrid synchronous learning. Whether teachers are using zoom or google classroom, video conferencing is the new classroom and many districts require that students keep their cameras on. This means that classmates and teachers have a window into your home.

As I said earlier, I don’t invite everyone into my home. Yet my wife and I have agreed to the reality of uninvited guest for the sake of our children’s safety. Their cameras are on; it is the policy of the school district that they’re CONTINUE READING: When it Comes to Cameras in Virtual Classrooms, Compromise Over Compliance - Philly's 7th Ward

NYC Public School Parents: Do you know where your child's personal data is? Please fill out our survey on your school's use of digital apps -

NYC Public School Parents: Do you know where your child's personal data is? Please fill out our survey on your school's use of digital apps -

Do you know where your child's personal data is?

Please fill out our survey on your school's use of digital apps

Class Size Matters, NY Allies for Public Education, and the Parent Coalition for Student Privacy would like to know which online apps or programs are being employed by schools throughout New York state, and whether they are sufficiently protective of children's privacy. We are asking parents and teachers to take our survey here, to let us know what apps or programs your schools are using.

Since the pandemic hit, districts across New York State have purchased many commercially-produced online apps and digital programs to implement remote learning. Even before last spring, schools had been using a large number of programs, many of which collect and use personal student information. In NYC alone, more than 75 commercially available online programs have been acquired for teachers to assign to their students, and "The DOE has informed schools that for SY 2020-21, they must have a shared, inclusive and digital curriculum in all core subject areas," according to the UFT.

Many of these digital apps collect and use personal student data in ways we do not understand. In some cases, the publicly available privacy policies of these vendors are NOT sufficiently protective and do not comply with the NY state student privacy law, Education Law 2D, which was passed in 2014.  

Among other things, this law and its regulations adopted in Jan. 2020 require that every contract with a vendor with access to personal student data must have a separate Parent Bill of Rights [PBOR], which specifies how the data will be protected and how parents can access the data and challenge it if necessary.

Each of these separate Parent Bill of Rights are supposed to be posted on the district website, along with other important information, including your district’s overall data privacy protection policy, and how you can contact the district data privacy officer in charge of ensuring these protections. Links to the Education Law 2D, the regulations, and a summary of some of the other most important provisions are here.

Please take a few minutes to fill out our online survey to let us know what online apps and/or digital programs are being used in your schools, and whether the district has provided the necessary information about the ways in which that data is being protected from breach and abuse.

Thanks!

Leonie Haimson, Class Size Matters and Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

Lisa Rudley and Jeanette Deutermann, NY State Allies for Public Education

NYC Public School Parents: Do you know where your child's personal data is? Please fill out our survey on your school's use of digital apps -

Data breaches hit thousands of K-12 students, federal watchdog reports - POLITICO

Data breaches hit thousands of K-12 students, federal watchdog reports - POLITICO

Data breaches hit thousands of K-12 students, federal watchdog reports

Student academic records were most commonly compromised, including assessment scores and special education records.

Thousands of K-12 students were affected by 99 reported data breaches in the United States over the last four years, according to a Government Accountability Office analysis published this week.

U.S. GAO - Data Security: Recent K-12 Data Breaches Show That Students Are Vulnerable to Harm - https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-20-644 via @USGAO

Student academic records were most commonly compromised, including assessment scores and special education records. Coming in second were records with personally identifiable information, such as student Social Security numbers, according to the analysis of data from July 2016 to May 2020.

Key findings: Wealthier, larger and suburban districts were more likely to report a breach, the report says, citing information from the Cybersecurity Resource Center.

“Breaches were either accidental or intentional, although sometimes the intent was unknown, with school staff, students, and cybercriminals among those responsible,” the GAO report said. “Reports of breaches by cybercriminals were rare but included attempts to steal [personally identifiable information].”

Background: As schools rely more on information technology systems, they collect more student data electronically that can put student information at risk of disclosure, the report warns. Distance learning during the pandemic has put a spotlight on K-12 cybersecurity issues.

This summer, the FBI alerted private industry that new cyberattacks were likely ahead as schools began virtual learning. Following that warning, districts like the Fairfax County school system near Washington, D.C., fell victim to ransomware attacks, and a Miami-area teenager blocked thousands of students and staff from classes during their first week of online learning. READ MORE: Data breaches hit thousands of K-12 students, federal watchdog reports - POLITICO

NY State Student Privacy Regulations Summary and Excerpts | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

NY State Student Privacy Regulations Summary and Excerpts | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

NY STATE STUDENT PRIVACY REGULATIONS SUMMARY AND EXCERPTS

As the new school year has started this fall, schools across the country are heavily relying on virtual and blended learning to instruct children. To facilitate this remote learning, many schools are using apps and programs developed and operated by third-parties. New York State regulations create requirements and restrictions for the contracts between school districts and app developers/operators regarding data privacy and usage. Below are a summary and excerpts of these regulations for parents to stay informed on whether school districts are complying and protecting students properly.

NYS-Student-Privacy-Regulations-Summary_v2

NYS-Student-Privacy-Regulations-Excerpts v2

NY State Student Privacy Regulations Summary and Excerpts | Parent Coalition for Student Privacy

glen brown: "Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

glen brown: "Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

"Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"

“…Legal experts and government transparency advocates say schools, as a whole, have a long track record of abusing privacy laws to keep information secret and force the public to enter costly lawsuits to gain access to records. Justin Silverman, who leads the New England First Amendment Coalition, said several states also had cited HIPAA as a reason for withholding coronavirus case counts at nursing homes, although many later reversed course and released that information.

“Although there’s a fine balance between the public’s right to know and personal privacy, many health experts said clear and consistent disclosure of even basic case numbers is essential for sound decision-making. 

“Dr. Nathaniel Beers, who serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on School Health, suggested school districts should have a tiered communication approach: providing the most detailed information to people with direct exposure; a more generic notification with health screening guidance for others in the school; and basic information on case counts and response for the general community. ‘For schools to be open, you need staff to feel like safety is first. You need students, [teachers and staff] and parents to feel safety is first. You need the broader community to feel like the school is taking care of business and not putting everyone else in harm’s way,’ said Beers, who also is president of the HSC Health Care System in Washington, D.C. ‘That’s where the broader communication is really critical.’ 

“Standing guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that HIPAA does not apply to elementary and secondary schools. 

“In particular, the agency notes they are ‘not a HIPAA covered entity,’ which CONTINUE READING: glen brown: "Neither FERPA or HIPAA prevents schools from sharing non-identifiable information with the media and the general public"