Data Privacy Information for Parents

  • We take student data privacy very seriously in Noblesville Schools (NS).  Safeguarding student data is an essential responsibility for all NS employees.  Our schools and staff follow our Student Data Privacy training and guidance process to ensure that all NS staff are:

    1. Protecting student data
    2. In compliance with Indiana and federal laws regarding student data privacy. 

    Public Transparency

    The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) collects student data from students across Indiana to meet specific policy, practice, and service requirements of state and federal laws.  We collect and submit student data to IDOE based on their requirements and procedures. In addition, this NS Parent Data Collection document outlines the types of student Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that we collect during enrollment.

    Noblesville Schools Approved Technology Resources - Student PII Collected

    The Approved Technology Resources spreadsheet is a resource for school leaders, teachers, students and parents/guardians as part of the student data privacy process. The purpose of the ATR is to allow school leaders and teachers to identify which tools they plan to use with students, and to inform parents/guardians of these tools and their privacy policies. As applications are adopted by schools, and if they are not already protected by student data privacy agreements, the ATR provides assistance for schools to take appropriate measures in protecting student data by providing guidelines for obtaining data-sharing agreements or obtaining parent consent for classroom use. 

    Parent Consent – On-Demand Service Providers

    If a vendor has not signed the NS Data Terms of Use Agreement (discussed further below), then it is considered to be an on-demand service provider. Parent/guardian consent is required at the school level before student data can be shared with on-demand service providers. Parent consent is given each school year through the re-enrollment process.  As new tools are added by your school, parents/guardians will receive notifications from their school so they have the opportunity to provide consent.

    Terms of Use Agreements

    At a district level, we devote significant staff time and resources to negotiating contracts with vendors that include a formal data sharing agreement (Data Terms of Use Agreements) to prohibit student data mining or targeting marketing while requiring industry standards for encryption and security.  These agreements allow NS to designate vendors as “school officials” to enable us to share student data without parent/guardian consent.

    Staff Training and Professional Learning

    Noblesville Schools has a committee of staff members who meet bi-monthly to identify training opportunities and solve problems related to data privacy. Staff can earn professional growth points by completing a self-paced training module on protecting student privacy. Over 200 staff members have completed the training to date.

    Legal References:

    There are several laws that dictate how schools and teachers handle student data.

    • FERPA – The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
      FERPA requires that schools have written permission from the parent or guardian in order to release any information from a student’s education record. So the most important thing is that, with some very specific exceptions, you shouldn’t be sharing student information with apps and websites without parent permission.
    • COPPA – The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
      COPPA puts special restrictions on software companies about the information they can collect about students under 13. So, students under 13 can’t make their own accounts, teachers have to make the accounts for them. In making the accounts, teachers need to be aware of their responsibility under FERPA.
    • CIPA – The Children’s Internet Protection Act
      Teachers don’t need to help comply with CIPA, but it’s useful to know that it is in place. CIPA requires districts to put measures in place to filter Internet access and other measures to protect students.
    • PPRA – Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment
      PPRA governs the administration to students of any survey, analysis, or evaluation that concerns one or more of eight designated protected areas.

Additional Information