Youth & Education Privacy

The Student Privacy Pledge is a public and legally enforceable statement by ed tech companies to safeguard student privacy, built around a dozen commitments regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal information. Since it was introduced in 2014 by the Future of Privacy Forum and the Software and Information Industry Association, more than 300 ed tech companies have become signatories, and it was endorsed by the White House in 2015.

In 2015, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) set out to gain a better understanding of what public school parents actually know and want concerning the use of technology and collection of data in their children’s schools, as well as their perspectives on the benefits and risks of student data use within the educational system.

FPF has produced a checklist to assist parents and schools in considering the “basics” of security standards on new ed tech products and services they may be considering or using. In on-line security, there is unfortunately no “one size fits all” solution, but with so many products and services available, this checklist is designed to provide some initial key triggers of areas that either meet a basic threshold, or might serve as discussion points for further review with the company involved.

The Student Privacy Pledge was introduced over two years ago by the Future of Privacy Forum and the Software and Information Industry Association. It was endorsed by the White House and published at the forefront of the movement to clarify responsible practices in the collection, protection, and use of student data as the presence of technology in schools expanded. The Pledge has since been signed by more than 300 ed tech companies as a way to help demonstrate their commitment to student privacy.

Data has always been an inherent part of the educational process – a child’s age, correlated with her grade level, tracked to specific reading or math skills that align with that grade, measured by grades and tests which rank her according to her peers. Today this data is ever more critical.

Washington, DC – Today, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and ConnectSafely are releasing the Educator’s Guide to Student Data Privacy. Technology tools and applications are changing the way schools and teachers educate students across the country. New resources are making it easier for teachers and students to communicate in and outside of the classroom making learning a 24/7 activity.

In response to the allegations made today that Google has violated commitments of the Student Privacy Pledge (SPP), FPF Executive Director Jules Polonetsky issued the following statement: “We have reviewed the EFF complaint but do not believe it has merit.  Chrome Sync is a setting within the control of the school IT administrator, and can […]

October 30 – EdSurge, a independent online resource on education technology, has  a piece on student data privacy written by FPF’s own Jules Polonetsky and Brenda Leong.  Polonetsky and Leong comment on a “trust gap” between parents and schools when it comes to the collection, use, and security of student data, and discuss the best […]

  Today the US political news website The Hill carried an opinion piece by Future of Privacy Forum staff on the EUCJ’s Safe Harbor ruling.  Executive Director Jules Polonetsky and Legal & Policy Fellow Bénédicte Dambrine write of the challenges the ruling creates for European companies, workers, students, and educational institutions, and asked that policymakers […]

Few topics in education have generated as much discussion as the potential for data and technology to transform teaching and learning. While the public discourse has been dominated by advocates and critics alike, we’ve learned little about how most parents of school-aged children view the risks and opportunities of using data and technology in the […]