Navigating Student Data Privacy: Understanding the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC)
The landscape of student data privacy is becoming increasingly complex. With heightened awareness, especially since the shift to online learning in 2020, and the proliferation of educational technology (EdTech) tools, schools and districts face a growing challenge in safeguarding student information. The Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) emerges as a key player in addressing these concerns, offering a collaborative approach to navigating the intricacies of data privacy.
The Growing Need for Student Data Privacy
Over the last decade, awareness and concerns over student data privacy issues gained attention across the United States. With 2020 came a newly heightened awareness of privacy, as nearly all students were thrown into online learning, and families had greater visibility to the technology tools their children were using. At the same time, the need for more robust interoperability has spiked as more and more technology tools are needed to provide online, hybrid, and in-person education.
What is the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC)?
A4L’s Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) is an unique collaborative of schools, districts, divisions, regional, territories and state agencies, policy makers, trade organizations and marketplace providers addressing real-world, adaptable, and implementable solutions to growing data privacy concerns. The Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) is a national organization with state affiliates that work together to address growing student data privacy concerns. The National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) was developed by the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) in partnership with the 28 state alliances.
SDPC's Mission and Approach
The SDPC has been extremely successful in bringing the educational technology (EdTech) marketplace and school districts together in addressing student data privacy obligations. The Consortium has a mature process for establishing a statewide contract and a database for posting vetted applications and provides transparency to staff and community.
The SDPC offers an “on the ground and real world” set of privacy tools allowing schools to manage and communicate on the software solutions impacting learning.
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Key Initiatives and Tools
The National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA)
The National Data Privacy Agreement (NDPA) was developed by the Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) in partnership with the 28 state alliances. The NDPA streamlines application contracting and sets common expectations between schools/districts and marketplace providers in addressing legal obligations on student privacy.
SDPC Application / Resource Registry
Training is available for the new Student Data Privacy Consortium (SDPC) Application / Resource Registry.
Privacy Obligation Document (POD) Consumer API
The SDPC POD (Privacy Obligation Document) Consumer API is designed to be a machine-readable version of contract information closely aligned with a standard SIF POD. A POD is “an artefact derived from a paper contract which contains details of the parties involved, the data which can be transferred from one party to another, details of the technical benchmarks which must be adhered to (e.g.
Tactical Privacy: Addressing Immediate Needs
There are numerous organizations providing some great guidance, effective practices and/or tools to address various student data privacy issues. The challenge is that much of this work does not address many of the “immediate and on the ground” needs seen by schools, districts, divisions, states and territories each day. We call these issues “tactical privacy” issues.
The Importance of Security Benchmarks
As the SDPC continues to expand, the ability to audit and/or certify that providers, and schools, are meeting their security obligations to safeguard data is critical. Currently, there are very few mandated requirements for providers to adhere to specific security benchmarks. Some states have legislated their own set of security requirements. The new Global Education Security Standard (GESS) Project Team has been working diligently to develop a matrix/crosswalk of all existing security frameworks and identify a core set of controls applicable to PK-20 data.
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Challenges and Considerations
“While I commend the various legislative and organizations beginning to address the issue of student data privacy, the “high level” recommendations, guidance, certifications, etc. are difficult if not impossible to keep organized and more importantly implement at the district level. high volume record sharing has historically been the Achilles’ heel of PK12 data integration efforts. When schools start to capture real time attendance events, the extra volume degrades and often completely overwhelms systems that rely on quick and timely data updates.
Recent Developments and External Factors
On April 22, 2025, the FTC published the final rule amendments to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), marking the first changes to the rule since it was last amended in January 2013, a time that predates nearly all state student privacy laws. Google has recently informed users that starting in March 2025, they will restrict access to additional services for students under 18 as part of the Google Workspace for Education. Before turning these back on, schools will need to verify that they have obtained parental consent.
State-Level Involvement
The California IT in Educational (CITE) Association, representing over 1,000 districts, has joined the Student Data Privacy Consortium. The Illinois Student Privacy Alliance (ISPA) is a free consortium that allows school districts to access management tools and resources for data privacy agreements. All Illinois school districts are invited to join ISPA.
Resources for Staying Informed
This site provides information, news, and opinions on maintaining student data privacy. CatchOn has created federal and state-specific guides that outline and summarize student data privacy laws and regulations. A great place to start and/or come back to weekly.
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