Student Data Privacy and Data Ethics Scenarios for School Leaders

Student data privacy and data ethics are essential topics that should be included in School Leader training and professional development. School Leaders’ very role requires them to make daily decisions that impact which student data is collected or revealed, how the data is stored, how data is interpreted and used to make decisions about students, and how district and state policies are upheld in the classroom. Responsible data use is more than compliance with laws and regulations; it requires practices that ensure ethical and equitable uses of data that work to minimize the potential for harm. These responsibilities have become all the more important as schools have worked to adapt to new forms of learning prompted by the pandemic, including virtual, hybrid, and modified face-to-face. The Student Data Privacy and Data Ethics Scenarios for School Leaders are free, supplemental course materials that aim to help School Leaders understand privacy risks and ethical concerns that arise in school-based situations and provide expert guidance on how to mitigate risk and harm through discussions on the legal obligations and best practices for protecting student data privacy.