Privacy Shouldn’t Depend on District Size or ZIP Code!
Privacy Shouldn’t Depend on District Size or ZIP Code!
What if student data privacy didn’t depend on how big your district is?
That’s the question at the heart of a newly published CPO Magazine article. Written by WSIPC Communications Director Corrie Wilder, Ed.D., “Privacy Shouldn’t Depend on Your ZIP Code” shows readers how K–12 privacy practices have evolved, and why shared infrastructure matters more than ever.
The Problem No One Talks About (But Everyone Feels)
For years, student data privacy wasn’t about intent. Districts care deeply about protecting student information, but the problem was capacity.
Large districts often had dedicated legal, IT, and security teams to review contracts, negotiate vendor terms, and revisit agreements as systems changed. Smaller districts? They were juggling those same responsibilities with a handful of staff, sometimes one person doing it all.
The result was fragmentation. Privacy protections varied wildly, not because of different rules, but because of different resources.
From Contract Chaos to Smarter Systems
Instead of thousands of districts independently negotiating nearly identical contracts, the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) introduced standardized, reusable agreements, most notably the National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) and the National Research Data Privacy Agreement (NRDPA). These tools shifted privacy from a document-heavy, one-off exercise into something far more powerful: shared operational infrastructure.
The win? Less time reinventing the wheel, and more time focusing on what matters, implementation, monitoring, and incident readiness.
Ten Years Later, the Results Speak Loudly
After a decade of adoption, the scale is impressive:
- 34 million students supported
- 34 statewide alliances
- 131,000+ standardized agreements executed or subscribed to
- An estimated $65 million saved in legal and administrative costs
But the real story isn’t just efficiency, it’s resilience. Privacy programs became less dependent on individual staffing capacity and far more sustainable over time.
Washington State: A Cooperative Model in Action
Through your WSIPC Cooperative, all Washington State schools (public, private, independent, charter, and tribal) receive free Washington State Alliance access to the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) and the Access For Learning Community (A4L).
A small rural district now operates with the same foundational privacy protections as a large metropolitan one.
That’s equity by design, and it works best because privacy doesn’t live in isolation.
The Big Takeaway: Privacy Works Better Together
When privacy is supported collectively, it becomes more consistent, more auditable, and far less fragile. It stops being dependent on geography and starts functioning as it should: a durable system designed to protect students everywhere.
CPO Magazine’s article is a powerful reminder that when we work together, and build smart, shared systems, student data privacy becomes stronger for everyone.
The A4L Community brings together education leaders, policymakers, and solution providers to tackle real-world challenges around learning data, privacy, and interoperability. WSIPC is proud to be a founding member of the Student Data Privacy Consortium, which focuses specifically on the day-to-day realities of protecting learner information and setting clear, consistent expectations between schools and vendors.
WSIPC is a non-profit public agency that provides technology solutions, 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