Homework answers / question archive / Student Data Privacy and the COVID-19 Crisis AUGUST 2020 Recovering from the COVID-19 crisis will take coordinated action across multiple critical issue areas from policymakers, elected officials, researchers, advocates, and other education leaders

Student Data Privacy and the COVID-19 Crisis AUGUST 2020 Recovering from the COVID-19 crisis will take coordinated action across multiple critical issue areas from policymakers, elected officials, researchers, advocates, and other education leaders

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Student Data Privacy and the COVID-19 Crisis

AUGUST 2020

Recovering from the COVID-19 crisis will take coordinated action across multiple critical issue areas from policymakers, elected officials, researchers, advocates, and other education leaders. To support these efforts, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has compiled a series of resources on key issue areas states must address as they map their paths forward. Leaders can refer to these resources to learn why these issues matter to their education goals, how to prioritize actions now and down the line, and where to find additional guidance.

Why Does Safeguarding Student Data Matter Right Now?

The COVID-19 crisis has raised new considerations for data security and privacy as educators use data to support students’ education progress in an online environment. Over the past several years, policymakers across the country have enacted and updated policies designed to address safe data use in modern and evolving classrooms; now, changes in teaching practice are happening on an unprecedented scale and pace following the rapid transition to online learning. With the future of the pandemic uncertain, schools likely will continue to rely on some amount of online instruction for the foreseeable future. Families and educators value and use data to help make the best decisions for students, but if leaders do not safeguard data, people will lose trust in the information they are provided—and people do not use data they do not trust. States will need to move quickly to provide data privacy and security support so that educators and other stakeholders can trust data and use it responsibly. Some of the questions states must address include the following:

??How can educators keep student data safe in online environments. if they are sharing and accessing data via new instructional tools?

??What information do parents need to trust that their child’s data

is being protected while also being used to support their child’s

education progress?

??How are new types of information being appropriately and

securely incorporated into state and local data collections?

??What information do district leaders need to play a role in making

sure that everyone involved in supporting students understands

their responsibility to safeguard data?

State policymakers must clarify how federal and state privacy and

security policies apply to the evolving data practices of this moment

and support all districts, especially those with increasingly scarce

resources, to safeguard data as they use it to make important decisions

now and moving forward. To ensure that data can be used to support

student progress, families must trust that their child’s data is being

used responsibly and securely, regardless of platform and learning

environment.

MAINTAINING TRUST AS DATA USE CHANGES

What Actions Do States Need to Take to Support Student Learning and

Recovery Efforts?

In their short-term response to COVID-19, state leaders must clarify existing state privacy and security policies, communicate

clearly that privacy is a priority, and support districts in selecting service providers. Longer term, states should update governance

practices to meet evolving needs and invest in data privacy training for practitioners.

Near-Term Priorities

??Clarify existing policy. State leaders should take stock of

the state’s privacy and security policy foundation and how it

applies to the ways student data is being used right now. They

should determine whether updates or supplemental policies are

needed to account for online or hybrid instruction and continued

uncertainty. Steps leaders can take include the following:

– Clarify and communicate to school and district leaders how

state and federal privacy laws apply to online learning and

online operators. Especially if their state has enacted relevant

laws in recent years, leaders should make clear how the laws

apply to the current ways data is being used and shared during

this crisis and make this information available on the state

education agency’s website.

– Reach out to district leaders, including technology

administrators, to ask them what their needs are and what new

concerns they are facing related to data use and protection.

Leaders should share this feedback with state peers and provide

support accordingly. It’s important to consider the different

challenges districts may face as they figure out how to meet the

needs of students in an online setting, including the readiness

of their infrastructure to provide universal online instruction.

??Offer guidance on the safe use of service providers. District

leaders are making device purchases and service selections

at a faster pace than usual. Selecting service providers that

adhere to data privacy and security best practices has always

been a challenge for districts, so it is critical that state leaders

take steps to help make these decisions more straightforward

for those who are juggling multiple priorities and may not have

the time or expertise to vet services adequately. Some states,

like Connecticut (see sidebar), have already taken steps to help

with this decisionmaking, such as issuing features to look for or

curating lists of service providers that adhere to state-determined

best practices.

??Publicize their commitment to safeguarding data. Leaders

should use their bully pulpit to demonstrate that they value

protecting student data. Protecting student data privacy starts

with strong policies and practices, but it also requires building a

culture of trust in data use. Myths and fears feed on a lack of clear

information. Leaders must clearly communicate how student

data is used and protected. They must make clear that the state’s

agency values data use and is committed to creating safe online

learning environments in which data is used to help, and never

harm, students.

Spotlight: Connecticut

The Connecticut Department of Education published a webpage with important information

related to student data privacy and COVID-19. This page includes sample emails that district

leaders can send to vendors. Before the COVID-19 crisis, Connecticut took steps to help

ensure that administrators and educators could select safe online tools. The state developed

the “Educational Software Hub,” a website that educators and district leaders can use to

search for educational software developed by companies that have pledged compliance

 

MAINTAINING TRUST AS DATA USE CHANGES

Long-Term Considerations

??Modernize governance policy and practices so they are

sufficiently nimble in an evolving landscape. States must

ensure that their plans for crisis recovery include revisiting and

strengthening data governance policies regarding safeguarding

student data. During the coming years, those closest to students

may need to use data in ways that policymakers do not yet

anticipate. Rather than policies that govern discrete uses of data,

which can quickly become outdated, data governance provides

a mechanism to define processes that can address new and

unforeseen challenges. Members of a governance body should

be empowered to make decisions and pursue updates and

clarifications to policy when needed. Specific actions states can

take include the following:

– Work with peers across state agencies to create and maintain

robust, sustainable data governance. Leaders should ensure

that the state has both K–12 data governance and cross-agency

data governance practices in place. They should take steps

to make this data governance sustainable, such as through

codifying it in legislation.

– Pursue strategies to include diverse perspectives in

decisionmaking. States should revisit which stakeholders

have a say in decisions about student data privacy and use.

Leaders must work to include voices that represent those most

affected by these decisions, including students that have been

disproportionately affected by the shift to online instruction.

– Distribute guidance to districts. Districts also need strong

governance policies and practices. States can create new

model data governance policies or share existing ones

with district administrators. They should include guidance

regarding how to establish and strengthen cross-agency data

security practices, given that responding to COVID-19 student

needs may require coordination with noneducational entities

such as public health or social services.

??Support educator and school administrator data literacy.

Training is a critical aspect of safeguarding data. Those who

use student information every day have to understand how to

use it safely and ethically, including while working remotely.

State policymakers should include data literacy training, such

as skill-building on how to protect the security of data in online

environments, as part of any future investments in online

learning professional development for both teachers and school

administrators. Any efforts to support teachers in online learning

skills should account for data use and privacy.

Why Is Data Governance Critical for Helping

Policymakers Address Their Data Priorities?

Data governance practices are the best way to ensure that decisions about data

collection, privacy, and use are made transparently at the leadership level. Data

governance enables state leaders to take the following actions:

• Define roles and responsibilities for managing data collections.

• Make informed policy decisions across agencies.

• Build relationships and trust with stakeholders working on programs spanning

from early education through the workforce.

• Create sustainability for data policies and priorities.

See DQC’s Roadmap for Cross-Agency Data Governance for more information about

creating a high-quality data governance body.

MAINTAINING TRUST AS DATA USE CHANGES

Resources

States can refer to the resources below for clear, actionable information related to safeguarding student data during COVID-19

response and recovery.

Best Practices for the Design

and Implementation of

Data Privacy and Security

Programs, an issue brief from

the Institute of Education

Sciences, details best

practices for developing

and implementing privacy

and security plans and data

sharing agreements for

statewide agencies.

“COPPA Guidance for Ed Tech

Companies and Schools

during the Coronavirus,”

from the US Federal Trade

Commission, contains advice

for schools that use education

technology services, including

a checklist of considerations

for vendor selection.

“Cybersecurity Considerations

in a COVID-19 World,” released

by the Consortium for School

Networking, is a rundown

of best practices for leaders

to consider to ensure that

practitioners can protect

student and staff data during

this shift to online learning.

“FERPA and Virtual Learning,”

created by the US Department

of Education’s Student Privacy

Policy Office, includes curated

resources related to the

Federal Educational Rights

and Privacy Act (FERPA) and

virtual learning for COVID-19

response, including an FAQ to

help school officials protect

student privacy.

 

“Micro-credentials COVID-19

Library,” created by Digital

Promise, helps teachers and

administrators continue their

professional development.

The library includes training

modules on data literacy,

student data privacy, and

technology coaching.

“Student Privacy and

COVID-19” is a resource page

from the Student Data Privacy

Consortium that features tools,

including a vendor registry and

contract models, to help state

agencies and districts manage

online learning needs while

respecting student privacy.

Student Privacy During

the COVID-19 Pandemic, an

FAQ from AASA, The School

Superintendents Association

and the Future of Privacy

Forum, offers guidance for

school administrators that

builds on the guidance issued

by the US Department of

Education.

 

 

 

Purpose This assignment is intended to help you learn to discuss how information security and fraud could have an effect on students. Action Items Use the attached article Download attached articleand the Information Security and Computer Fraud chapter in your book as a starting point, choosing two other articles as support, and write a paper discussing how information security and fraud could have an effect on students. Unlike the reaction paper, this paper should not be written in first person. The paper should be 800 words, 12-point font, single spaced, and use APA references and in-text citations for all four (or more) sources. How does information security affect student privacy? In the new online environment, how could a breach affect a student? Is computer fraud a concern for students? How? What ways can a student or instructor help prevent breaches in information security and computer fraud?