North Central Ohio Educational Service Center Partners With CoSN to Support Districts in Building Safe and Trusted Digital Learning Environments

 

Washington, D.C. (November 10, 2025) – CoSN today announced that North Central Ohio Educational Service Center (NCOESC) joined the CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) State Partnership Program, a national initiative helping K–12 education institutions strengthen student data privacy programs. With this collaboration, NCOESC and CoSN will work to improve student data privacy practices for all districts in Ohio — joining North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana in advancing statewide data privacy efforts.

The CoSN TLE State Partnership Program provides state education agencies with:

  • Unlimited free TLE Seal applications for districts in the state.
  • Exclusive state data privacy benchmarking reports that provide aggregated measures of district student data privacy practices as compared with those of current TLE Seal recipients across 25 specific privacy and security requirements.
  • Resources and guidance to support districts in improving privacy practices that the benchmarking report indicates are common challenges.

Additional support available includes student data privacy training and seats in the CoSN Certified Education Technology Leader (CETL®) preparation and exam program.

“Ohio’s participation in the TLE State Partnership Program reflects a strong commitment to protecting student data and building trust in education technology,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN. “We’re proud to partner with NCOESC to help all districts in the state strengthen privacy practices and create safe, trusted digital learning environments for students.”

“Through our innovative program, schools gain the tools, training and best practices needed to strengthen cybersecurity, safeguard student data and ensure compliance. Together, we are building a culture of trust and digital responsibility that protects students and advances learning. NCOESC is proud to extend our expertise to help districts earn this designation,” said Dr. Bryan Drost, Executive Director of Instructional Innovation & Grants at NCOESC.

The CoSN TLE Seal is a national distinction awarded to school districts demonstrating a tangible commitment to protecting student data privacy through modern, rigorous policies and practices. The program requires that school systems uphold high standards for protecting student data privacy across five key practice areas: Leadership, Business, Data Security, Professional Development and the Classroom. The TLE Mini Seal allows districts to demonstrate progress in one or more of these areas as they work toward earning the full Seal.

To date, seven districts in Ohio have earned a TLE Seal or TLE Mini Seal. Across the country, TLE Seal recipients have improved privacy protections for more than 1.4 million students.

To learn how the TLE State Partnership Program is impacting student data privacy practices and policies across the country, download CoSN’s Illinois and Indiana case studies here: www.cosn.org/tools-resources/tlepartner

About CoSN
CoSN, the world-class professional association for K-12 EdTech leaders, stands at the forefront of education innovation. We are driven by a mission to equip current and aspiring K-12 education technology leaders, their teams, and school districts with the community, knowledge, and professional development they need to cultivate engaging learning environments. Our vision is rooted in a future where every learner reaches their unique potential, guided by our community. CoSN represents over 13 million students and continues to grow as a powerful and influential voice in K-12 education. For more information, visit www.cosn.org/

About the CoSN Trusted Learning Environment State Partnership Program
The CoSN Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) State Partnership Program is designed to measure and improve district student data privacy practices across all districts in the state. Through survey-based benchmarking, CoSN is able to aggregate district privacy performance across the 25 requirements of the CoSN Trusted Learning Environment Seal Program. CoSN provides comparisons of these results to the aggregated results of TLE Seal recipients. CoSN then provides each state with resources that are ready-made for its districts, providing guidance to improve the top three areas of weakness. The process is repeated on a cycle to continuously build up privacy practices across all districts. States are also provided with free TLE applications for all districts, providing the opportunity for districts to gain additional, customized feedback on their privacy programs and earn recognition for their efforts. For more information, visit CoSN.org/TLEpartner.

About North Central Ohio Educational Service Center
North Central Ohio Educational Service Center’s (NCOESC) mission is to be a recognized leader committed to meeting the needs of our educational partners through excellent service exhibited through honesty, trust and integrity. NCOESC is committed to offering quality programs and services that will help school districts meet their unique needs.  We have an experienced staff with in-depth knowledge on a wide variety of topics. NCOESC staff has the expertise and training to design programs, services and professional development to address the needs of our school districts. www.ncoesc.org

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Makenzie Carlin, mcarlin@fratelli.com
Dr. Bryan Drost, bdrost@ncoesc.org