Since 2013, over 130 new student privacy laws have passed in 41 states, with more bills and regulations being rolled out each year and in 2020, the shift to hybrid and distance learning created new privacy concerns. This isn’t only a legal problem: as technology changes and the amount of information schools collect and maintain increases, conveying best practices to schools that adequately protect student privacy is extremely challenging.
The Future of Privacy Forum, a nonprofit focused on privacy, created the free Train-the-Trainer program to help school attorneys, state and local education agencies, and faculty at colleges of teacher education become student privacy experts who can help their stakeholders and train their peers on this changing legal and edtech privacy landscape.
Whether you are new to the student privacy world or an experienced practitioner, the FPF Student Privacy Train-the-Trainer Program will provide the knowledge and skills to make you a student privacy expert while connecting you with a peer network and student privacy experts from across the country. This program should be of interest to state and local K-12 school division staff, school attorneys and faculty at colleges of teacher education.
Participants should have a strong interest in student privacy and the willingness to conduct student privacy training at their institutions or relevant conferences. They should also be able to dedicate on average six hours per month for the program’s virtual webinars (90 minutes) and asynchronous activities (4-5 hours). Depending on conditions at the time, participants may need to travel to Washington, D.C. for an in-person closing workshop in November 2021. Travel scholarships are available for a limited number of participants.
Specific topics include:
- Protecting Student Privacy
- Using Data in Education
- Managing Third Parties
- Safeguarding Data Security
- Establishing Data Governance
- Practicing Transparency & Building Trust
Here is what participants of the 2020 Train-the-Trainer program had to say about the value of the program, and its impact on their day-to-day work.
Program requirements, details and dates for each module, and the form to apply is here. Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis but must be submitted no later than January 29th.
About the course leader
Kim Nesmith currently serves as the Data Governance, Privacy, and EdTech Director for the Louisiana Department of Education where she works cross-functionally throughout the Department to implement long-term strategies focused on coordinating and aligning data collection, storage, and use as well as ensuring the privacy of student and teacher data. While serving at the Louisiana Department of Education, Kim has established a data governance system that includes data access and management policies, privacy trainings, and data release processes. After establishing these policies and processes, Kim trained and provided resources for Louisiana’s school systems to do the same. Kim also oversees all data-sharing agreements, monitors releases of data, and provides guidance regarding compliance to the strictest student data privacy law in the nation. Working with multiple cross-agency teams, Kim represents the Department on the Statewide Data Governance Influence Group, the Governor’s sub-cabinet data sharing working group, and the legislative Technology Strategy Taskforce.
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