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Data Privacy & Security

In today's schools, using data wisely is key to making good decisions, especially when it comes to helping students do better. It's not just about meeting reporting rules; it's also about creating accurate reports on how schools and districts are doing. Vance County Schools goes beyond the basics outlined in the Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (FERPA). We've added extra rules and strict processes to make sure each student's privacy is protected, and all the data collected is kept safe and confidential. It's not just about following the law; it's about using data in a way that respects the rights and dignity of students and their families. Basically, Vance County Schools is committed to using data for smart decision-making and keeping student info private and secure while delivering a good education.

Board of Education Policies

4700 Student Records
3220 Technology in the Educational Program
3225/4312/7320 Technology Responsible Use
3228/7323 Use of Personal Technology to Conduct School Business
4705/7825 Confidentiality of Personal Identifying Information
4720 Surveys of Students
5240 Advertising in the Schools

 

Other Important Data Privacy Laws

Vance County Schools implements and follows all applicable state and federal laws around data privacy

  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
    • Governs information in a student’s education record, restricting access and use of student information.
    • Provides parents with certain rights to their child’s education record, including the right to review their child’s education record and request to amend it if it is factually inaccurate.
  • Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)
    • Requires that we filter our network to prevent students from accessing harmful content, provide an internet safety curriculum, and monitor electronic communications as part of a program that provides us with federal discounts for internet access and other technology services.
  • Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) 
  • Data Security Guidelines
     

Additional Parent Resources

Data Privacy Processes

  • We require all third-party vendors with which we share covered information, to sign a Data Privacy Agreement with us, which outlines what data is potentially shared, the purpose for collecting the data, what subcontractors they use and additional information.
  • All current executed agreements will be listed here. As we secure Data Privacy Agreements and amass the information required by NCDPI, agreements will be added to the list.
  • At the start of each school year, Vance County Schools will notify all families of what types of student data are collected and shared by providing access to our currently executed Data Privacy Agreements. 
  • Our efforts to evaluate all applications for Student Online Privacy Protection Act compliance and secure Data Privacy Agreements are focused, ongoing and done in good faith. We continue to work toward full compliance with Student Online Privacy Protection Act regulations, understanding the importance and immensity of the task.

Data maintained by Vance County Schools

  • Student Demographics
    • Name
    • Birthdate
    • Address
    • Race/Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Enrollment
    • State Assigned Student Identifier (UID)
    • School
    • District
    • Grade level
    • Entry/Exit date/type
    • Courses completed
    • Course Educator ID
  • Program Participation
    • Title I
    • Special Education/Gifted
    • Free/reduced lunch
    • English Language Learner
    • Migrant status

Vance County Schools safeguards sata through the following: 

  • Access Control
    • Identity Management (Authentication/ Authorization)
    • Strong password
    • 90-day expiration
    • Local access management
    • Access logging/monitoring (device & location)
    • Intrusion penetration/vulnerability Testing
    • All-staff security awareness training
       
  • Secure Transit
    • Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
    • Hypertext Transfer Protocol with Secure Socket Layer (HTTPS
       
  • Physical security
    • Controlled building and Data Center access
    • Video surveillance

Student and Parent Cybersecurity Awareness Tools

Children’s Interactive Cybersecurity Activity Kit 

Security Awareness for Your Home