Many school district technology leaders are struggling to establish fundamental student data privacy practices, partly due to a lack of support from the rest of the district, concludes a new report from the nonprofit Consortium for School Networking, a membership organization for district technology leaders.
Protecting student data has become one of the most pressing challenges for district technology leaders because learning environments are increasingly digital, districts are expanding their use of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning and the management of schools, and schools are becoming a top target for cyber criminals.
CoSN’s report, which draws from a nationally representative survey of 401 school district technology leaders between June 17 and Sept. 29 of 2024, examines the state of districts’ student data privacy practices and the hurdles districts face in creating a better data privacy culture.
The report, published March 18, found some key challenges facing school districts, including:
- Most job descriptions for those responsible for implementing student data privacy practices don’t mention privacy responsibilities;
- There is a lack of basic privacy policies and student data privacy training for school and district staff members; and
- Barriers exist to enforcing policies and managing district staff members’ online behaviors to better protect student data.
For instance, 77 percent of district tech leaders said their districts had a process for vetting the privacy and security of technologies before bringing them into the district, the report found. However, 55 percent said their teachers were aware of and used the vetting process.
And just under half of respondents (48 percent) said their districts have policies that address how data should be retained for use in student records, encryption of student data, and which district staff members have access to certain student data, the report found.
The report “underscores the urgent need for stronger leadership, training, and resources to protect student data in an increasingly digital world,” said CoSN CEO Keith Krueger in a statement.
District tech leaders say they need more support from their superintendents and other departments
Protecting student data is one of the top priorities for most district tech leaders, according to the report, with 88 percent ranking it as one of their top two priorities, and 46 percent ranking it as their No. 1 priority.
But 1 in 5 district tech leaders say they lack support from their superintendents, and more than a quarter (28 percent) say they lack support from other departments, making the work of protecting student data across the district more difficult, the report found.
When implementing changes, such as new student data privacy practices, “you need to get the leadership on board first,” said Don Langenhorst, the technology director for the Dedham Public Schools in Massachusetts. “That is essential.”
After getting the leadership on board, district tech leaders need to make sure the rest of the staff understand the need for the changes and “develop strong relationships with all parties and then build slowly to ensure you can sustain the change,” Langenhorst said.
Having buy-in from across the district is helpful because when it comes to data privacy and security, “the weakest link is always the human,” said Mickey Farmer, systems technology and innovation director for the Cabarrus County school district in North Carolina.
“You can put all the [data privacy tools] in place to prevent something, but at a certain point, you have to have the people follow the rules,” Farmer said.
But time and insufficient staffing levels are barriers to improving student data privacy practices, according to 60 percent of the survey respondents.
Providing professional development to all staff members takes time, and especially with teachers, data privacy training might not be at the top of their priority lists, district tech leaders say.
The report offers a few recommendations for superintendents and other district leaders to support tech leaders:
- Recognize that building and improving student data practices is a “leadership imperative”;
- Support tech leaders in breaking down department silos to more effectively implement and manage student data privacy practices; and
- Emphasize the importance of the work with all staff and ensure there are adequate resources (including policies) and training.
“It’s hard to move forward” without leadership being on board, said Farmer. But once they are on board, like in Farmer’s district, “they recognize that encouraging a security culture increases the district’s reputation and trust from parents overall.”
