Partnership Aims to Increase Data Privacy in Illinois School Districts
CoSN is partnering with school districts in Illinois via the state’s Learning Technology Center to strengthen K–12 data privacy practices. Through the partnership, leaders at CoSN and the Learning Technology Center hope to expand schools’ adoption of the Trusted Learning Environment framework.
Currently, only one district in the state has earned the TLE Seal, which CoSN awards to schools that document their data privacy strengths in all five areas of the framework. That district, Community High School District 99, earned the accolade in summer 2022.
“Having spent the last five years focusing intently on improving the district’s information security posture, the TLE was the ideal next step to deeply assess how we were doing, improve where needed and publicly celebrate our successes,” Rod Russeau, the district’s director of technology and information services, said in a press release at the time.
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While Illinois’s Learning Technology Center has historically worked with districts in the state on technology integration and professional development, the center is eager to dig deeper into data privacy with each district, says Executive Director Tim McIlvain.
“We already have several initiatives, such as partnering with the Student Data Privacy Consortium, which we’ve been doing for a number of years to help comply with Illinois’s [Student Online Personal Protection Act] related to data privacy,” McIlvain says. “But one thing we haven’t been able to do is provide ongoing, intensive support around creating policies and ensuring practices are implemented within a school district.”
Data Privacy Challenges for K–12 IT Leaders
While data privacy should fall under the umbrella of a K–12 IT leader’s role, the word “privacy” often doesn’t appear in anyone’s job description, says McIlvain. “It’s implied that they’re supposed to help with data privacy, but it’s not actually part of their responsibilities. We want to work with the tech leaders within districts to help them understand the TLE Seal framework and guide them through its five components.”
The guidance is much needed in districts, according to the feedback the Learning Technology Center has heard since it announced the partnership. While time and staffing are two of the bigger barriers to implementing more secure data privacy practices, districts also want help with understanding what needs done.
“A lack of guidance on state and federal laws is another barrier that people commonly identify, and that is something that we can address,” McIlvain says.
RELATED: Read the guide to FERPA, CIPPA and other K–12 data privacy laws.
A Plan to Improve Data Privacy for Illinois Schools
As for how the partnership will operate, work begins in January, when cohorts organized by the Learning Technology Center and CoSN will begin meeting with schools. While the primary goal is for districts to earn the TLE Seal, there’s an opportunity to take the improvements a step at a time.
“CoSN, in the past year, broke the Seal into mini seals as well,” McIlvain explains. “There are five of them, so you could tackle one at a time.”
The entire process is expected to take schools anywhere from three months to a year. “It depends on the speed at which the district operates. It’s not a quick process; any kind of school improvement process takes time,” McIlvain says.
UP NEXT: Privacy should be a top consideration for your district.
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