Student Data Privacy
Tonica CCSD #79 takes the privacy of our students' data seriously. This page intends to provide transparency and is working diligently to be compliant with the Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA).
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
Governs information in a student's education record, restricting access and use of student information.
Student Online Personal Protection Act (SOPPA)
Guarantees that student data is protected when collected by educational technology companies, and that data is used for beneficial purposes only.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
Restricts the collection of personal information from children under 13 by companies operating websites, games, mobile applications, and digital services that are directed to children or that collect personal information from individuals known to be children.
Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
Imposes certain requirements on schools that utilize the federal E-Rate program to receive discounts for internet access and other technology services, or that receive federal grants for other technology expenses.
What is SOPPA?
What happens to the student data that we send to a third party vendor? Information like names, birthdates, etc... may be provided by Tonica CCSD #79 to a third party like Teacherease, Aimsweb Plus, etc... What protections do those companies have in place to make sure that our student's data is not sold or freely given to others? This is exactly what SOPPA looks to address.
As part of SOPPA, these companies must enter into Data Privacy Agreements (DPA) with each district they work with. These agreements outline what data is stored, how it is protected, what the company can and cannot do with that data, and what they will do in the event of a data breach.
Data Privacy Agreements (DPA)
Tonica CCSD #79 leverages the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC), which is an unique collaborative of schools, districts, regional, territories and state agencies, policy makers, trade organizations and marketplace providers addressing real-world, adaptable, and implementable solutions to growing data privacy concerns. If you would like to read more about the SDPC, click here. Through the SDPC we enter into contracts with 3rd party vendors who handle our student's data. If you would like to view the DPAs that Tonica CCSD #79 currently holds, please click the following link.
Tonica CCSD #79 DPAs
Third Party Curriculum and Web Accessibility
Third Party Curriculum
The school district requires that any third-party online curriculum that is made available to enrolled students or the public complies with level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Consent Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 or any revised version of those guidelines.
Policy Statement
We are committed to ensuring our websites are accessible for all people regardless of ability or access method. Any new or updated website produced by us will be accessible and conform to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative’s (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA.
To affirm our commitment, people designated as website content editors will be trained in the functions of web accessibility tools and techniques. Periodic compliance scans will be conducted to detect Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 violations. Violations will be corrected to the best of our ability in a timely manner. Upon request, information contained on our website can be made available in an alternative format and when that is not possible we will employ other methods to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities.
Purpose
Our goal is to ensure that everyone has equal access to information and can fully interact with us through our website. Our website is assessed for compliance by simulating methods employed by people with various disabilities (e.g. the use of a screen reader or navigation by keyboard only), employing validators and monitoring content on a regular basis. When assessing our website we target accessibility standards compliant with WCAG 2.0 Level AA. We are committed to upholding our legal obligations and believe that ensuring equal access is our ethical responsibility.
Accessibility Features
Our website makes use of widely accepted standard techniques and preferred practices to provide the highly accessible content for visitors to our website. These include, but are not limited to, the characteristics of usability for screen readers, keyboard-only navigation, high contrast text and well-formed, linear content.
Accessibility Challenges
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Our website was redesigned and launched with accessibility as a top priority, however some 3rd party services linked from our website may not fully comply with required standards. When we find a vendor website falls short we contact them about their plan and timeline for becoming compliant. If a vendor does not plan to become compliant in a reasonable period of time we evaluate whether we can provide the service ourselves or switch to another compliant vendor, whenever possible.
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Some of our content, especially content produced prior to the June 2019 redesign, is in attached files such as PDFs and not fully accessible. We are working to transition from attached files whenever possible and when we must attach files we intend to provide only accessible PDFs. Attachments produced prior to June 2019 will be converted as time and resources permit.
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There are some instances where we are unable to provide information in an accessible format (e.g. forms or documents provided by 3rd parties). When we are unable to provide accessible content we are available to assist website visitors upon request.