Hackley School believes in, and supports the power of educational technologies in the classroom when meaningful and appropriate. As a result, the school incorporates a wide variety of learning resources that are delivered to students over the Internet. In order for students to use any of these programs or services, certain personal identifying information must be provided to the web site operator. In virtually all cases, this information consists of a UserID, (often an email address), password, and in fewer cases, the student’s name. Under federal law, these third party website providers must provide parental notification and obtain parental consent before collecting the personal information from students under 13 years of age.
Before involving students with any online resource, Hackley School takes great care to insure the quality of the product or service and the resultant learning experience for our students. Hackley school also validates that the provider of the resource handles and manages this student data appropriately, and conforms to the Children’s Online Privacy and Protection Act (COPPA 1998, last amended in 2015). Along with the quality of the resource, we also look at its impact over the educational marketplace. Is the product designed for education? Is its language, design, and graphics appropriate for our students and for the target grade levels? How many students and schools are already using the product? We will also research product reviews offered by teachers.
What is the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)?
The COPPA rule was created to protect children’s personal information on websites and online services – including apps – that are directed to children under 13. The primary goal of the act is to place parents in control over what information is collected from their young children online. It also allows schools, with the permission of the parent, to act as the parent’s agent and consent to the collection of student information on behalf of the student. For additional information, please refer to section M of this Federal Trade Commission document entitled, Complying with COPPA: Frequently Asked Questions.
Hackley School will be asking for parental consent through a signature page as part of the handbook for your child’s division. As is recommended best practice by the Federal Trade Commission, on the remaining pages of this site we are providing detailed information regarding the online providers used by our faculty. Your child may or may not work with every product listed. Please note that additional web providers and products may be added at the beginning of each year, so parents are invited to revisit this website at least annually.
The Student Privacy Pledge
In 2014, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) and the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) launched the Student Privacy Pledge, a voluntary program through which K-12 school service providers pledge to safeguard student privacy based on a dozen commitments regarding the collection, maintenance, and use of student personal information. Currently, there are 399 signatories on the pledge, which include an overwhelming number of those products we use at Hackley School. As technologies change, including those focused on education, the sponsoring organizations recently launched a Pledge 2020 initiative. Through this initiative signatories, edtech companies, civil society groups, student privacy experts and the general public will work collaboratively to update the Pledge to better serve America’s students.