How to Protect Student Privacy During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The School Superintendents Association (AASA) has partnered with the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) to create a resource to help K-12 and higher education administrators and educators protect student privacy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AASA/FPF resource supplements the recently published guidance from the US Department of Education on how the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) applies to schools in the context of COVID-19.

The AASA/FPF resource answers questions about how the health or safety emergency exception under the FERPA may allow schools to share students’ personally identifiable information (PII) with the community and relevant officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to view the AASA/FPF COVID-19 Resource

Your Data is Safe with WSIPC

WSIPC takes the following measures to protect the privacy of your data:

• Data Ownership – WSIPC complies with state and federal laws and guidelines, including FERPA and HB-1741, in the handling and disclosing of personally identifiable information. We require district approval before we share your data, and we contractually require the same approval for any vendor or organization we work with.

• Data Security – Security assessments are conducted on WSIPC systems annually, by independent companies. The results of the assessments are used to ensure that our system security is continually updated to meet the ever-growing threat of cyber security attacks.

• Security Awareness – WSIPC participates with the following resources, among others, to stay informed and engaged:

• Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) – a national alliance of states, districts, vendors, and policy makers. WSIPC has been part of this organization since its inception.
• National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) – a multi-state forum operated by the US Department of Education.
• Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) – a nonprofit organization that serves as a catalyst for advancing principled data practices and fostering privacy leadership and scholarship.

Student data privacy is a top concern for WSIPC, and we will continue to do our utmost to ensure that your data is protected.

To learn about WSIPC’s security policies and practices, see our Data Privacy page on our website, or contact us at info@wsipc.org or 425.349.6600.

WSIPC is a non-profit public agency that provides technology solutions (including Qmlativ), services, and support to K-12 schools. WSIPC’s purpose is to help schools do more with every dollar and to empower them with the tools to work smarter. To learn how your district can become part of the WSIPC Cooperative, contact us at info@wsipc.org or 425.349.6600.

WSIPC. Inspired by education. Empowered by technology.^TM