Education is changing. New technologies are allowing information to flow within schools and beyond, enabling new learning environments and providing new tools to improve the way teachers teach and the way students learn. Data-driven innovations are bringing advances in teaching and learning but are accompanied by concerns about how education data, particularly student-generated data, are being collected and used.
The Future of Privacy Forum believes that there are critical improvements to learning that are enabled by data and technology, and that the use of data and technology is not antithetical to protecting student privacy. In order to facilitate this balance, FPF equips and connects advocates, industry, policymakers, and practitioners with substantive practices, policies, and other solutions to address education privacy challenges at both the K-12 and higher ed levels.
For more information and resources, please visit Student Privacy Compass, a one-stop shop for information, news, and analysis on maintaining student data privacy.
FPF Testifies on Maryland Student Data Privacy Bill
Amelia Vance, Director of Youth and Education Privacy for FPF, recently testified before the Maryland House Ways and Means Committee on HB 1062. The legislation proposes several updates to the state’s Student Data Privacy Act, and an extension of the Maryland Student Data Privacy Council, which Vance was asked to serve on when it was […]
Future of Privacy Forum, National Education Association Call for Review of Mandatory Video Policies in Online Learning
The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and National Education Association (NEA) today released new recommendations for the use of video conferencing platforms in online learning. The recommendations ask schools and districts to reconsider mandatory video requirements that create unique privacy and equity risks for students, including increased data collection, an implied lack of trust, and conflating students’ school and home lives. […]
FPF Welcomes New Members to the Youth & Education Privacy Team
We are thrilled to announce two new members of FPF’s Youth & Education Privacy team. The new staff – Karsen Bailey and Bailey Sanchez – will help expand FPF’s technical assistance and training, resource creation and distribution, and state and federal legislative tracking. You can read more about Karsen and Bailey below. Please join us […]
24 Organizations Release Principles for Protecting Student Data Privacy and Equity in the Pandemic
The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and 23 other education, healthcare, disability rights, data protection, and civil liberties organizations today released Education During a Pandemic: Principles for Student Data Privacy and Equity (available here). The Principles offer 10 guiding recommendations for schools as they rely on new technologies and data to facilitate remote, in-person, or […]
FPF Submits Feedback and Comments on UNICEF’s Draft Policy Guidance on AI for Children
Last week, FPF submitted feedback and comments to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on the Draft Policy Guidance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Children, which seeks “to promote children’s rights in government and private sector AI policies and practices, and to raise awareness of how AI systems can uphold or undermine children’s rights.” The […]
The Federal Trade Commission Updates to the COPPA FAQs
Although the Commission stated that the revisions “don’t raise new policy issues,” companies collecting or managing data from children under 13 should be aware of several significant changes and clarifications to the FAQs.
FPF Submits Comments to United Nations Ahead of 2021 Special Report on Child Privacy
Last week, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) submitted comments to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy to inform the Special Rapporteur’s upcoming report on the privacy rights of children.
The First National Model Student Data Privacy Agreement Launches
Protections for student data privacy took an important step forward this summer when the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) released the first model National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) for school districts to use with their technology service providers. Ever since education technology (edtech) emerged as a key tool in classrooms, both schools and edtech companies […]
How the Student Privacy Pledge Bolsters Legal Requirements and Supports Better Privacy in Education
The Student Privacy Pledge is a public and legally enforceable statement by edtech companies to safeguard student privacy, built around a dozen privacy commitments regarding the collection, maintenance, use, and sharing of student personal information. Since it was introduced in 2014 by the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the Software and Information Industry Association, […]
Congrats to National Student Clearinghouse
National Student Clearinghouse’s StudentTracker for High Schools Earns iKeepSafe FERPA Badge July 22, 2015 – iKeepSafe.org, a leading digital safety and privacy nonprofit, announced today that it has awarded its first privacy protection badge to StudentTrackerSM for High Schools from the National Student Clearinghouse, the largest provider of electronic student record exchanges in the U.S. […]