Following our announcement post & reminder emails last year, regarding Hillsborough Township Public Schools joining the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC), our district technology team has continued to work diligently to safeguard all digital information across our schools. Protecting student and staff data remains a top priority, ensuring that every digital tool used in our classrooms meet rigorous privacy and security standards.
Last school year, our initial focus centered on ensuring that all websites requiring a student or staff login had fully signed data privacy agreements in place. Over the summer, we officially expanded this evaluation process to include Chrome Extensions and Add-ons.
Current Status by the Numbers
Through this standardized review process, initiated by submitting an Incident IQ (iiQ) ticket, we evaluate each EdTech resource requiring a login before it can be approved for district use. Here is where our district stood last week:
Among those evaluated, several widely recognized platforms including Blooket, Duolingo, Padlet, Quizlet, Scratch, and WeVideo (just to name a few) fall under these specific determinations. Because student and staff safety is non-negotiable, any platform that denies our privacy terms cannot be utilized on district devices or within instructional activities.
The Three Pillars of Our Data Privacy Agreement
When an EdTech vendor signs our SDPC agreement, they commit to three critical factors that protect our school community:
- Zero Data Monetization: The vendor is legally prohibited from selling or sharing any collected student or staff data with third parties.
- Vendor Liability and Security: The company assumes complete responsibility for protecting the data they collect. In the event of a security incident or data breach, the vendor is held solely responsible, removing liability and burden from our district. \
- Legal Compliance: The vendor explicitly agrees to follow all governing state and federal educational data privacy laws.
Checking Approved Status and Finding Alternatives
We strongly encourage all staff members to regularly review our district list of vetted tools before introducing any digital resource, which requires logging in, into their instruction.