EDUC 639: Security of Student Data

 

Security of Student Data 

The terms data privacy and data security sound synonymous, but they are not. Data privacy is an ‘umbrella term’ that covers many aspects of this issue. Largely it is made up of state and federal laws, and the expectation of the privacy of individuals. Those expectations might be, but not limited to, no unauthorized access, use, loss, or destruction of data. This may seem simple, but when you start thinking about where companies and municipalities, school districts store their data and who they pay to manage it, it can get quite complicated. How do you legislate “The Cloud”? (SPI Briefing Room, 2015) Where are these databases actually stored? Are they in your city, state, or (even) country?

This has been a growing issue for school districts around the world for some time. However, under the conditions that learning has been happening the last year or so of the global COVID-19 pandemic, this issue has blown up to almost a crisis level in many school districts. Matthew Ketchum, director of EdTech, Modesto City Schools, has some great advice for educators. He suggests that we remain ever mindful as we continue to add new technology apps, tools, and programs to our repertoires. Seek out our local and federal state laws for guidance, making certain that vendors have a clear, accessible, privacy policy to avoid the possibility that student data could be sold. (Dyknow, 2020)

Tools to help check student privacy compliance:

Common Sense Education’s privacy evaluation tool.

iKeepSafe Badging System for vendors.

Student Data Privacy Alliance CA & Nationwide Database

Code of Virginia § 22.1-20.2. Student data security.

 

References

Dyknow. (2020, September 3). A Crash Course on Student Data Privacy [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4CjhqieFns

SPI Briefing Room. (2015, July 20). Data Privacy vs. Data Security [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frFVppv2Q8k