Education and student data
Our deepest topic. Written by people who build software for schools, it covers the federal and state laws on student data, the agreements districts sign with vendors, and what changes when AI enters the classroom.
Deepest coverage
Start here: Foundations lessons
Short, plain-language lessons with a quick quiz. Part of the free course.
Go deeper: curriculum modules
In-depth explainers with a hands-on lab and links to primary sources.
- FERPA fundamentalsWhat the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects, who it binds, the rights it gives families, and the exceptions that let records move without consent.Full module
- FERPA for vendorsHow an edtech company receives student records lawfully under the school official exception, what it may and may not do with them, and how AI features change the questions.Full module
- COPPA and PPRAThe federal rules on collecting data from children under 13 and on surveys that ask students about sensitive topics, including family income.Full module
- State student privacy lawsCalifornia's SOPIPA and the wave of state laws that followed it: what they prohibit, how they differ, and how to build a state-law matrix for the places you work.Full module
- Data privacy agreements and the PledgeThe National Data Privacy Agreement districts sign with vendors, how its exhibits work, what it does not cover for AI, and what happened to the Student Privacy Pledge.Full module