META Resources
Montana Student Privacy Alliance
META Student Data Privacy Consortium/Terms of Service (SDPC/TOS) Project
12-5-19
Dear SAM Members,
Two years ago the Montana Educational Technologists Association (META) began working on student online personal information protection as one of their strategic plan goals. They began by forming the META Student Data Privacy Consortium/Terms of Service (SDPC/TOS) Project to assist our schools in implementing the best practices and most efficient methods for protecting student online personal information. The passage of HB 745 during the 2019 legislative session established definitions and criteria to consider.
META has partnered with MTSBA on interpreting language to comply with the conditions outlined in HB 745 and create templates for the use of school districts to protect student online personal information and be legally in compliance with the law while taking into account the demands on the school district to accomplish this. META has also partnered with the Office of Public Instruction to create a user-friendly process to protect all our districts from data mining and breeches.
Through this coordinated effort, META is preparing to launch the Montana Student Privacy Alliance (MTSPA). The MTSPA will be a resource for districts to find and share terms of service, agreements and contracts. Districts will be able to find "approved" vendors and products that comply with HB 745. The Alliance will also provide professional development, including webinars, to help parents, teachers and administrators make informed decisions about the technology (software and apps) being used in the classroom and help ensure we protect student data privacy. The MTSPA webpage/resource is now live on the OPI website. Click on the link (http://opi.mt.gov/Montana-Student-Privacy-Alliance) where you will find instruction for joining the alliance and several other resources. Click on the following links to begin exploring the MTSPA website: MTSPA Homepage and About MTSPA.
You can expect to see much more information in the coming days on implementing student online personal information protection in order to make that implementation as efficient and effective as possible for your schools and district. Thanks META for your great work to bring these resources to our schools!
META Website Accessibility Project
META Website Accessibility Project Overview
Visit METAhelp.org, the flagship website created as a result of the META Website Accessibility Project, for complete information about ADA compliance and website accessibility.