Roadmap to Safeguarding Student Data
Key Focus Areas for State Education Agencies
QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAPS
Why are we going on this road trip?
If our destination is improved student achievement, we
cannot get there without valuing and effectively using
data in education. Central to reaching this goal is building
trust among all those who have a stake in education that
individual student data, such as attendance, course taking,
grades, and test scores, are being collected for meaningful
purposes and kept safe, secure, and private.
Safeguarding student data is not just a technical project
done by one person within the state education agency
(SEA). It must be an integral part of the SEA’s purposeful,
planned, and transparent efforts to use data in support
of student learning. This is about changing the culture in
the SEA around data, and this culture change starts from
the top. Safeguarding student data needs to continue
to be a priority of SEA leadership, and the SEA needs to
effectively use and protect student data.
Far from being a detour, safeguarding student data is
a critical component of effective data use. When SEAs
create high-quality policies and practices that govern
data protection and use, they can be confident they
are on the right path to using data to answer critical
stakeholder questions and to inform decisions to support
continuous improvement. By implementing these policies
and practices, SEAs can engage everyone who works with
data in a culture of valuing data, clearly communicating
about data, and understanding and practicing ethical data
use. This roadmap is designed to help SEAs improve both
the specific policies and processes to safeguard data and
the transparency and communication practices needed to
create this responsible data culture.
Where are we going?
Having a high-quality student data privacy policy and
implementing related supporting practices allow SEAs
to meet their legal, technical, and moral obligation to
safeguard the student data they collect and use to
support student achievement. Through privacy policies,
data governance processes, and ongoing communication,
states describe and codify the procedures, personnel
supports, and data collection and use guidelines that SEAs
employ to safeguard the state’s education data. Making
student data privacy policies publicly available provides
transparency around data use, helping build trust with the
public that student data are being collected, managed,
and used in responsible and ethical ways. Supporting
practices, such as data privacy training for SEA staff,
awareness building, and communication processes, ensure
that the privacy policy is implemented effectively and
consistently by the SEA staff who are entrusted with
student data.
Every SEA must create and continuously update highquality
student data privacy and confidentiality policies
and develop supporting governance structures and
practices, which prescribe how student data are used
and protected in the service of improving student
achievement. This document provides specific, practical
recommendations for SEAs as they prioritize the
safeguarding of student data and continuously review and
update their data privacy policies and practices to address
changes in technology.
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How do we get there?
All SEAs—and everyone who works with student data—
must comply with the Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act (FERPA) and other federal and state laws
that protect the privacy, security, and confidentiality of
student data. However, to enhance the safeguarding of
student data and to address local needs and contexts
and the evolving use of technology in schools, SEAs
should develop their own data governance structures
and processes as well as a publicly available student data
privacy policy. SEAs can also enact high-quality practices
and supports to safeguard student data by focusing on
three key areas:
1. Transparency: Clearly communicate internally and with
the public about the policies and procedures designed
to protect student data and about how data are
collected, used, and safeguarded.
2. Governance: Design structures and delineate roles
and responsibilities that establish stable procedural
and personnel-based supports for the effective
implementation of privacy policies.
3. Data Protection Procedures: Implement specific
security and privacy strategies, processes, and controls
that physically, technically, and legally safeguard
student data.
Planning Ahead for Future Journeys
As SEAs develop high-quality policies and practices
to protect the data they collect and use and recognize
the importance of data quality and integrity to support
student achievement and enact critical reforms, they can
also begin to consider additional ways to strengthen their
privacy policies and practices and create a culture of
shared commitment to responsible and effective data use,
such as
• identifying ways to share information about current
data uses and research studies with parents and other
members of the public;
• using findings from risk assessments (internal review
of existing privacy policies and practices) and security
audits (internal or external review of processes and
technical environment) to strengthen and formalize
student data privacy policies and procedures;
• implementing SEA policies and establishing practices
for public transparency around how student data
privacy policies are developed and implemented;
• identifying elemental-level data that contribute to
student level indicators, and determining appropriate
protections for each element (e.g., identifying the exact
data pieces used to calculate a student’s record of
chronic absence); and
• creating a policy or process that addresses the
commercialization of student data. While states are
legally prohibited from selling student data, they bear a
responsibility in defining the permissible collection and
uses of data by external technologies and programs
used in classrooms.
Together, these recommendations can guide state efforts
to continually adapt, revise, and refine their data privacy
and security policies and practices. Ultimately, however,
policies and procedures are only one part of the larger
effort to transform the culture of education data use from
one of accountability to one of providing meaningful
services and high-quality education to every student.
Hopefully, SEA efforts to engage state leadership in data
governance, codify processes, and communicate with
other agencies and the public will support this culture
change and keep states moving down the road of using
data ethically and effectively to support students.
Tools for the Trip
Find additional resources from the Data Quality Campaign (DQC)
and other organizations to aid in developing and implementing
SEA student data privacy policies and practices, including the
following:
●● guides on talking about data with different audiences
●● guidance and technical resources for state policymakers
●● practical tools for crafting legislation to safeguard and govern
data and for selecting and working with service providers
Transparency
How does transparency safeguard student data?
Transparency around privacy policies and practices is
critical to building trust with the public, particularly
parents, about the value of data. If the public is
confident that the data collected are safeguarded
and are used in specific, ethical ways to help
students succeed, they can trust the SEA to collect
and use student data. In addition, seeking public
participation, discussion, and input on the use of data
and its governance fosters empowerment and builds
collaborative relationships with parents, teachers,
and education leaders.
What does transparency look like?
STUDENT DATA PRIVACY POLICY
• Relevant state, local, and federal laws are
referenced in the SEA student data privacy policy.
• There is an annual or regular review and update of
the student data privacy policy.
• The student data privacy policy clearly states the
types of student data collected and the purposes
for which the data will be used, and it refers to
data protection, maintenance, and rentention
procedures.
• The student data privacy policy is publicly
available and no more than one click away from
the SEA website homepage.
• The student data privacy policy is available in
additional languages or formats (depending on
the state population).
• The student data privacy policy is clear and
written in plain language, not technical or legal
terminology.
• The student data privacy policy contains protocols
for sharing data (e.g., with researchers, nonprofit
partners, other state agencies).
WRITTEN RECORDS
• There is a data inventory or data classification
(e.g., a data dictionary) that defines each data
element collected and stored by the SEA that is
regularly reviewed and updated.
• The SEA maintains and publishes a list of all
external student data requests that are fulfilled
and indicates what data were provided and
whether the requests included personally
identifiable information (PII) that could be used to
identify an individual student.
Transparency refers to the clarity and availability of the SEA’s materials and communication
around the collection, use, and safeguarding of student data. Materials can include the SEA’s
privacy policy, inventories of data collected by the state and how they are used, and lists of
external data requests. Communication refers both to internal SEA communication structures and
to outreach activities to the public.
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How can an SEA achieve this?
SEAs can create a clear, user-friendly place on their websites that allows members of the public to easily
access the student data privacy policy and understand how the SEA safeguards student data. SEAs can
also prepare a description of the uses of the data and the benefits for families, teachers, and schools.
State leaders should be able to speak to the value of data in supporting student achievement in the
state and how the SEA safeguards student data through the SEA’s privacy policies and practices.
COMMUNICATION
• There is a written internal communication
structure, providing clarity around when and
how to include executive-level staff in critical
conversations.
• There is a clear and documented process for
receiving and responding to complaints, concerns,
and questions from parents and other individuals
about the privacy policy or the use of student PII.
• There are processes for engaging internal and
external stakeholders (e.g., SEA department
heads, state information technology office) to
gather feedback about the privacy policy.
• The SEA solicits broad public comment on the
privacy policy with clarity around which issues are
open for public comment and which are not.
• Information is available for parents and other
internal and external stakeholders to explain
the student data privacy policies (e.g., through
brochures, flyers).
FOCUS AREA
2 Governance
How does governance safeguard student data?
Data governance is needed to establish the best
structure and identify the right individuals to make
decisions and implement the SEA’s education data
collection and use framework. Governance empowers
these bodies and their members with the authority
and responsibility to make necessary decisions that
ensure data are used effectively and in compliance
with the state’s privacy policies and practices (and to
create consequences for noncompliance). In addition,
governance gives sustainability to these policies
and practices and ensures that they will safeguard
student data over time, even as leadership priorities
change.
What does governance look like?
STAFF SUPPORTS
• There is executive-level (e.g., chief state school
officer) support for data governance.
• There is a chief privacy officer or other high-level
official who plays a significant role in the SEA’s
privacy efforts (i.e., this is an official position or an
explicit component of a job description).
• The SEA has or supports a program to increase
awareness of privacy policies and practices
among its staff.
• There is ongoing professional development and
training for SEA staff on safeguarding student
data, including new protocols, issues, and policies.
SEA staff are required to complete training on
a regular basis (e.g., annually), measure their
understanding, and are responsible for achieving a
specified threshold in regard to training standards.
Not meeting this threshold has consequences,
including denial of access to data.
• The SEA works with its human resource
department to incorporate employee
responsibilities around safeguarding student data
into position descriptions, especially those dealing
with confidential information.
• There are efforts to further develop the skills of
the SEA staff to safeguard student data (e.g.,
external conference attendance, group discussions
of whitepapers, webinars).
Data governance, a critical aspect of data management, provides the SEA an opportunity to
define and establish the roles and responsibilities needed to institutionalize a commitment to
data quality and use. Without a data governance strategy there is no clear ownership of the data;
no clear business processes for collecting, managing, and reporting data; and no accountability
for data quality and integrity.
Governance is needed to ensure that integrated and
master data (data which are collected once but used
in numerous places) are used and disclosed only
for proper purposes and in the proper manner. In
addition, governance structures can ensure that the
state collects and uses data effectively to answer
critical questions about student achievement and
school performance and to identify best practices
and pathways for student success. Governance
related to safeguarding data can include establishing
training and supports for SEA personnel, defining
roles and responsibilities around internal auditing
and accountability, and delineating standards for
contractors and vendors who have approved access
to limited student data.
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INTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY PROCESSES
• Data requests are handled using established data
governance procedures.
• There are documented data system and
compliance audit processes, and they are
reviewed and updated at least annually.
• There are reviews of privacy implications
associated with new data sharing or analysis
opportunities.
• There are documented rules for disclosure
avoidance (i.e., processes to avoid unintentionally
releasing PII) before publishing data (in
accordance with FERPA), and they are reviewed
and updated at least annually.
CONTRACTING AND DATA SHARING STANDARDS
• If student data are shared with third parties (e.g.,
researchers, evaluators), the sharing is done in
compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
• There is student data privacy policy and data
governance orientation, which is required for
contractors and vendors who have approved
access to limited student data.
• Memoranda of understanding for cross-agency
data sharing (e.g., between the SEA and in-state
postsecondary institutions) include processes that
follow all relevant state, local, and federal data
privacy laws. These processes include appropriate
monitoring provisions for all long-term or
renewable data sharing agreements.
• External contracts satisfy all applicable privacy
laws. These contracts minimally include data
protection responsibilities required of contractors
and vendors that are comparable to those
required of SEA staff who have approved access
to student data. The SEA monitors contractor and
vendor capability and follow-through to protect
student data.
How can an SEA achieve this?
SEAs can support their implementation of high-quality data governance to safeguard student data by
responding to data privacy conversations within the state and ensuring that governance structures and
procedures address this context. This may include responding to specific public concerns (e.g., the use
of a service provider, teacher effectiveness policies) or working with other state entities participating in
data governance work, such as state school boards or state executive leadership. SEAs can also address
the implications of changing data management technologies (e.g., cloud computing, mobile devices,
new data management applications and software) through their governance procedures.
QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAPS
FOCUS AREA
3 Data Protection Procedures
How do data protection procedures safeguard student data?
Data protection procedures ensure that the SEA has
specific protocols and supports in place to safeguard
student data. These procedures are formalized,
documented, and regularly shared internally.
They include measures to physically safeguard
data; to ensure the proper orientation, training,
and monitoring of staff interacting with data; to
implement formal student data privacy policies at
the state level; and to create procedures to ensure
that data are protected across multiple uses (e.g.,
research, evaluations, public reporting).
What does data protection look like?
PRIVACY AND SECURITY PROCEDURES
• The SEA develops and implements comprehensive
and effective physical, technological,
environmental, and legal data privacy and security
policies and procedures. Policies and procedures
address the following:
–– the encryption, storage, and transmission of
student PII
–– disclosure processes that describe the
appropriate situations and processes for
releasing or sharing student data
–– personnel management and training for staff
who have access to student data
–– processes for data destruction in all places
where the data are stored
–– procedures for tracking and monitoring
processes and activities to ensure that they are
followed and consequences for not doing so
(e.g., data destruction practices are monitored
to ensure data were destroyed as specified)
• Levels of data sensitivity are clearly defined,
and data are categorized by these levels, with
appropriate differences in levels of protection
depending on how sensitive the data are. The
definitions and categorization should recognize
that although all student data may be considered
sensitive, some pieces of data (e.g., special
education indicators) may be considered
more sensitive than other pieces of data (e.g.,
attendance rates).
• Processes and practices ensure that encryption or
other protection is in place during movement or
transmission of sensitive or confidential data and
that these protections are routinely reviewed and
kept up to date.
PERSONNEL
• SEA staff annually review the student data privacy
policy and provide written assurances that they
will meet their data privacy responsibilities as a
prerequisite to getting access to data.
• There is orientation for new SEA staff regarding
data responsibilities soon after beginning
employment and for current SEA staff with
new responsibilities; access to data depends on
completion of the orientation.
• Access to student PII is based on SEA staff roles
and responsibilities. There is a regular audit,
conducted at least annually, of the responsibilities
of continuing SEA employees to ensure that data
access levels remain appropriate. Data access
privileges are updated when SEA staff take a new
position in the agency, new SEA staff join, and
SEA staff leave.
• Background checks are performed on SEA
employees who have access to student PII.
Data protection procedures are the formalized, internal activities and standards that SEAs employ
to manage and protect the education data they collect.
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How can an SEA achieve this?
SEAs can review their existing data privacy policies, and policies across state agencies, to ensure that
the SEA student data privacy policy is consistent with other state policies (e.g., in terms of governance,
penalties, and personnel, such as having a chief privacy officer). States can determine gaps and
inconsistencies or overlaps among the state privacy policies and create an SEA student data privacy
policy that complements and is consistent with other privacy policies in the state.
POLICIES
• There is a documented data retention policy that
explicitly addresses for how long and in what
manner student data should be kept to ensure its
availability for legitimate educational purposes
while safeguarding student data.
• There are documented processes around the use
of PII data for software application development
and related processes (e.g., helpdesk support,
troubleshooting issues).
• There is a regularly reviewed list of approved
vendors who have appropriately authorized access
to student data for legitimate educational reasons.
Appropriate agreements are in place with vendors
and are monitored and updated.
• There are documented policies regarding data
ownership and appropriate uses of shared data.
These policies include consulting with data owners
(i.e., the agency that initially supplied the PII and
has primary responsibility under law for its proper
use and protection) about other potential uses of
the data.
• Documented roles and responsibilities regarding
data protection, data ownership, and data access
are regularly reviewed and updated.
• There are documented policies for handling
privacy incidents, such as data breaches, including
a response process with designated leadership.
Privacy incidents are tracked in a standardized
way, and the public is notified when appropriate.
PROCESSES
• The SEA or another state agency conducts a
periodic risk assessment (a review of existing
privacy policies and practices leading to an
identification of potential privacy risks), and
findings are documented and tracked to ensure
that appropriate action is taken to resolve
identified risks.
• For all personally identifiable student data sets,
there are test data (data that cannot be linked or
traced to actual individual students) available for
application testing, demonstrations, trainings, etc.
• There is a process to determine the educational
needs that require collection, maintenance, or
disclosure of data (both within and outside the
SEA). That is, the SEA can articulate why student
data are being collected or shared (e.g., to
improve student achievement, to comply with laws
and regulations).
• There is a documented process for submitting,
authenticating, and evaluating external data
requests. This process includes steps to determine
whether internal and external requests for data
can be adequately met with de-identified or
aggregate data rather than PII.
• There are data minimization processes to ensure
that data elements are collected, maintained,
and/or linked only when needed for specified
purposes.
• There are practice drills and process reviews for
privacy incidents (e.g., data breaches) to ensure
that processes and procedures are effective and
being followed appropriately.
QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAPS ROADMAP TO SAFEGUARDING STUDENT DATA
TOOLS FOR THE TRIP:
Additional Resources from DQC and Other Organizations on Safeguarding Student Data
Value of Data
●● Ms. Bullen’s Data Rich Year: This graphic
follows a teacher and student through
the school year to see how data help
teachers, parents, and others make sure
students are meeting education goals.
Communicating about Data
●● Talking about the Facts of Education
Data with Policymakers: This one-page
fact sheet answers critical questions
for policymakers about the federal
role in data collection and regulations
prohibiting the selling of student data.
●● Talking about the Facts of Education
Data with Parents: This one-page fact
sheet answers critical questions for
parents about why states and districts
collect education data and what the
federal role in data collection is.
●● Talking about the Facts of Education
Data with School Board Members: This
resource, created in conjunction with the
National School Boards Association, is
designed to help school board members
better understand the value of education
data and their role in safeguarding
student data.
The Facts about Safeguarding
Data
●● Myth Busters: Getting the Facts Straight
about Education Data: This set of myth
busters provides facts about common
education data misconceptions,
including the perceived federal role
in data collection, sensitive student
information, and FERPA.
●● Safeguarding Student Data: This onepage
fact sheet outlines three strategies
for policymakers to pursue in their
efforts to safeguard student data and
support effective data use: addressing
stakeholder needs, communicating
with the public, and implementing
appropriate policies.
●● Communicating Data Toolkit: This toolkit
contains language and tools for talking
with peers, press, and the public about
data and meeting education goals.
Guidance and Technical
Resources for Policymakers
●● Supporting Data Use While Protecting
the Privacy, Security and Confidentiality
of Student Information: This
publication outlines three overarching
responsibilities of state policymakers
to protect the privacy, security, and
confidentiality of students’ PII.
●● Key Elements for Strengthening
State Laws and Policies Pertaining to
Student Data Use, Privacy, and Security:
Guidance for State Policymakers:
EducationCounsel, a leading education
law consulting firm, developed this
document with guidance for state
policymakers on the key foundational
components to include in a privacy
policy as well as model legislative
language.
●● The US Department of Education
created the Privacy Technical Assistance
Center (PTAC) as a resource on privacy,
confidentiality, and security practices
related to the use of student data.
Among PTAC’s many resources is
Protecting Student Privacy While Using
Online Educational Services, which
clarifies when and how FERPA applies to
student data collected by internet-based
services. Another resource explains all of
the FERPA exceptions.
●● CoSN Protecting Student Privacy in
Connected Learning Toolkit: This toolkit
prepared by the Consortium for School
Networking (CoSN) is a practical guide
for school and district leaders on
selecting and contracting with thirdparty
service providers for data storage
and management.
These recommendations were developed in collaboration with the following group of experts.
●● Kathy Gosa, formerly of the Kansas
Department of Education
●● Chandra Haislet, Maryland Department
of Education
●● Daria Hall, The Education Trust
●● Hans L’Orange, State Higher Education
Executive Officers Association
●● Rodney Petersen, EDUCAUSE
●● Jay Pfeiffer, Consultant
●● Maureen Wentworth, Council of Chief
State School Officers
●● Steven Winnick, EducationCounsel
●● Kathleen Styles, US Department of
Education (Advisory member)
The Data Quality Campaign’s Data for Action is a series of analyses that highlight state progress
and key priorities to promote the effective use of data to improve student achievement. For more
information, and to view Data for Action 2013, please visit www.DataQualityCampaign.org.
![Cameron Evans, Microsoft’s chief technology officer for U.S. education, says: “Students are not products. We have a long way to go across the industry in getting everyone on board with protecting students’ [data
privacy].”](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_v9UGZmjcPZG3A-8gX6zIABUQjiYCARbMdETT3ogCrfmiV6hr4lGqhmuKRWwFdaOJ1sdz8o5uXns-lBNONW-c5NSELopf0QTXf_fDgaPnt3oz76gxBQ50eiXH15-peTTk-Y-509IxJ27qLupA=s0-d)