Student Data Privacy

Simsbury Public Schools is committed to protecting student data in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Connecticut Student Data Privacy Act (CT PA 16-189). This Connecticut specific law addresses the provision of personally identifiable student information (PII) to individuals or entities outside Simsbury Public Schools. Simsbury Public Schools collects PII for the purposes of school and district operations, only providing received data to parties within the district authorized to access the material. We do not share student PII with external researchers. While the District observes student confidentiality under FERPA, this Connecticut public act adds a layer of requirements to ensure student privacy beyond that of the federal regulations. This sets forth minimum privacy and contractual standards for all parties involved in the creation, use, disclosure, or handling of student data.

Model Annual Notification of Rights Under FERPA for Elementary and Secondary Schools
Simsbury Board of Education Policy #5127 (Student Record Policy)

Our student handbooks contain further student data privacy details and are updated annually:

Elementary (K-6)
Middle School (Grades 7-8)
High School (Grades 9-12)

If you have any questions or concerns with regard to student data privacy or the online educational services used by the Simsbury Public Schools, please contact David Prinstein, Director of Instructional Technology, at (860) 658-0451 ext. 543 or dprinstein@simsburyschools.net

Considerations for Approving Online Services

Simsbury Public Schools utilizes many online applications and web-based tools to foster student learning through personalization, collaboration, and exploration. Online or cloud-based applications and services extend student learning beyond the school day and building and provide accessibility to useful learning tools.

Considerations for approving an online service

We use educational accounts for most of our online services in order to have more control of settings and ease of classroom setup. Prior to recommending a service for classroom use, we review the service's privacy and security policies and inform teachers of best practices for using them responsibly. We do not approve providers who use personally identifiable information outside of Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) standards. Since October 1, 2016, renewed or new online services that house student information, records and/or student work on their servers must also meet the minimum requirements of the Connecticut Student Data Privacy Law; Public Act 16-189 (See Revision of Bill for update). See the resource tabs below for more information on the law and a complete listing of third party services utilized by the district for operational and educational purposes.

These services include G Suite for Education, which is used extensively by our students and teachers in grades 3 through 12 for classroom and homework assignments. In keeping with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and our licensing agreement with Google, if you as the parent/guardian of a student under the age of 13 is concerned about this usage and would want to discuss opting out please contact Director of Instructional Technology Maggie Seidel for more information.

District-approved online educational services

Compiled below, by grade-level, are the most widely used online educational services presently recommended for classroom use that require students to log-in with a student account. For some of our online educational services we provide students with generic school log-ins that are not unique to a user and/or their directory information. For complete information on each app's terms of service, please click on the provided links below.

Grades K-2

Each K-1 classroom is equipped with student iPads for a 2 students per iPad ratio. Most of the apps with these iPads are downloaded apps that do not require Internet access or student log-ins.

There are a few apps and online services that can be personalized for student learning, and these require a unique log-in.

Available apps that require a student log-in or username include:

Product and Website

(Grades 1,2)

(Grades 1,2)

(Grade 2)

Class Dojo

Grades 3-4

Starting in third grade, students participate in the online Smarter Balance Assessments. To help prepare students for this testing environment, they are given limited Google Apps accounts (there are no active email accounts for grades 3-8) to use at their teacher's discretion. Teachers may also choose to have students participate in group projects, e.g., online reading discussions, through the district Wikispaces Campus service. This is a teacher-moderated space used as an online extension of the classroom.

Available apps and online services that require a student log-in:

Product and Website

Class Dojo

Grades 5-6

In grades 5 and 6, students continue to have the online services described in grades 3-4 available to them with the addition of Explore Learning concept simulations-GIZMOS. Teachers at this time may also explore the use of moderated blogging applications, which requires approval by the district and possibly parent sign-off.

Available apps and online services that require a student log-in:

Product and Website

without student log on

(Grade 6)

Class Dojo

Grades 7-8

At the middle school, some of the online services provided are aimed at giving students more help with managing their workload and obtaining online feedback from their teachers and peers. Teachers may have students use district-approved Chrome extensions/apps for class projects when using the Chromebooks. Students are expected to follow the HJ Way and the Responsible Use Policy when online as stated in the Student Handbook.

Available apps and online services that require a student log-in:

Product and Website

without student log on

Newsela

NoRedInk

Grades 9-12

At the high school, students rely heavily on online services, especially when working on Chromebooks. Teachers may have students also access Chrome extensions for video and audio production during some projects, using their Google Apps log-in. These extensions must meet FERPA requirements if assigned for use by the teacher. Whenever using any online services, students are expected to adhere to the principles of the Trojan Code and the Responsible Use Policy as stated in the Student Handbook.

Available apps and online services that require a student log-in:

Product and Website

Blogger

NoRedInk

Google Workspace for Education (formerly GSuite)

As a Google Workspace for Education district, we can take advantage of the online productivity suite similar to Microsoft Office. Teachers and students have found the collaborative nature and mobility of a cloud drive to be extremely helpful with workflow.

Google Workspace for Education is one example of an educational online service account that allows the district to have more control over settings based on grade level and security concerns. Students in grades 3-12 have individual log-ins to Google in order to access Chromebooks and the Google apps. Only grades 9-12 have active school gmail accounts. For grades 9-10 these accounts are limited to our school domains: simsbury.k12.ct.us and simsburyschools.net. For grades 11-12 students can also access .edu domains for college applications. Students cannot receive or send emails outside these domains except for receiving emails from other school-provided services for password resets, etc.

These accounts are for school related work and activities only and are not to be used as "personal, private" accounts.

In keeping with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and our licensing agreement with GAFE, if you as the parent/guardian of a student under the age of 13 is concerned about this usage and would want to discuss opting out please contact Director of Instructional Technology Maggie Seidel for more information.

Answers to many top questions about privacy and security appear on Google for Education Trust page.

Google Workspace for Education Privacy Notice describes how Google products and services collect and use information when used with Google Workspace for Education accounts.

Information about the legal commitments Google makes for Google Workspace for Education Core and Additional Services is available in their Help Center.

Information about how Google’s products work to protect privacy is available in the Product Privacy Guide.

Educational Online Services

Lists of third party services

Please see the links below for the listing of approved third party services presently contracted with by Simsbury Public Schools that may collect/maintain/ use student information in the delivery of operational and educational services. The SDP agreement used by the district is based on the Terms of Service template provided by the state.

Educational Online Services:

General Classroom
ESS

App/Service	Type Of Student Information Collected	Grade Level/ Content Area	Privacy Policy Date/ Link to Addendum or Online
Bookshare.org	Student Name, Grade, DOB, Disability Status	K-12 Accessible Educational Material	March 1, 2019
Boardmaker Online	Student Initials, Grade	K-12 Teacher Created Accessible Educational Materials	August 1, 2020
Pearson Clinical Assessments	Student name, DOB, Assessment Data	K-12 Standardized Assessments	January 18, 2018

Operational Online Services