SOPPA
Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA)
Students are required to use technology in school more and more. Understandably, there is growing concern regarding the level of privacy measures that schools and their educational partners take to protect personal information. DeLand-Weldon CUSD #57 is committed to protecting student privacy. The resources provided here are intended to help inform parents and assist in the transparency of our student data privacy efforts.
SOPPA
The Student Online Personal Protection Act, or SOPPA, is the data privacy law that regulates student data collection and use by schools, the Illinois State Board of Education, and education technology (EdTech) vendors. SOPPA will also require Illinois school districts to provide additional guarantees that student data is protected when collected by EdTech companies and that data is used for beneficial purposes only. SOPPA requires all Illinois public school districts to provide these guarantees to protect student data privacy, effective July 1, 2021 (105 ILCS 85/15).
Ensuring the security of our students’ personal information is important to DeLand-Weldon CUSD #57, and establishing protocols compliant with this legislation will enable us to do so consistently.
Data Privacy Agreements (DPA)
DeLand-Weldon utilizes the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) to help manage data privacy agreements with third party EdTech vendors who handle our student data. The SDPC is a "collaborative of schools, districts, regional, territories and state agencies, policy makers, trade organizations and marketplace providers addressing real-world, adaptable, and implementable solutions to growing data privacy concerns." To learn more about the SDPC, please click here.
Annual Notice to Parents about Educational Technology Vendors Under the Student Online Personal Protection Act
School districts throughout the State of Illinois contract with different educational technology vendors for beneficial K-12 purposes such as providing personalized learning and innovative educational technologies, and increasing efficiency in school operations.
Under Illinois’ Student Online Personal Protection Act, or SOPPA (105 ILCS 85/), educational technology vendors and other entities that operate Internet websites, online services, online applications, or mobile applications that are designed, marketed, and primarily used for K-12 school purposes are referred to in SOPPA as operators. SOPPA is intended to ensure that student data collected by operators is protected, and it requires those vendors, as well as school districts and the Illinois State Board of Education, to take a number of actions to protect online student data.
Depending upon the particular educational technology being used, our District may need to collect different types of student data, which is then shared with educational technology vendors through their online sites, services, and/or applications. Under SOPPA, educational technology vendors are prohibited from selling or renting a student’s information or from engaging in targeted advertising using a student’s information. Such vendors may only disclose student data for K-12 school purposes and other limited purposes permitted under the law.
In general terms, the types of student data that may be collected and shared include personally identifiable information (PII) about students or information that can be linked to PII about students, such as:
Basic identifying information, including student or parent/guardian name and student or parent/guardian contact information, username/password and student ID number
Demographic information
Enrollment information
Assessment data, grades, and transcripts
Attendance and class schedule
Academic/extracurricular activities
Special indicators (e.g., disability information, English language learner, free/reduced meals or homeless/foster care status)
Conduct/behavioral data
Health information
Food purchases
Transportation information
In-application performance data
Student-generated work
Online communications
Application metadata and application use statistics
Permanent and temporary school student record information
Operators may collect and use student data only for K-12 purposes, which are purposes that aid in the administration of school activities, such as:
Instruction in the classroom or at home (including remote learning)
Administrative activities
Collaboration between students, school personnel, and/or parents/guardians
Other activities that are for the use and benefit of the school district