CoSN Issues K-12 Privacy Toolkit for School Leaders

Today at the Consortium for School Networking’s (CoSN) 2014 Annual Conference in Washington, DC, CoSN released a privacy guide to help school system leaders navigate the complex federal laws and related issues. Issued as part of CoSN’s new Protecting Privacy in Connected Learning initiative, the Toolkit addresses compliance with laws such as Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and offers ideas to better protect student privacy and their data.

The Toolkit was created with the help of Harvard Law School’s Cyberlaw Clinic, which is based at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

Organized as a decision tree, the Toolkit includes:

  • Definitions
  • Suggested contract terms
  • Security questions to ask an online service provider
  • Overviews on the Directory Information Exception and the School Office Exception
  • Understanding metadata and de-identification

To access the Toolkit and to learn more, visit: www.cosn.org/privacy.