CoSN (the Consortium for School Networking) today announced that Colorado’s Boulder Valley School District is the latest recipient of the national Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal. Boulder Valley earned the Seal for taking measureable steps to strengthen the privacy of their students’ data.
 
The Colorado district, which has approximately 31,000 students, is the 13th school system nationwide to receive the Seal—joining a diverse group of small, large, urban and rural school districts. The other TLE Seal earners are: Baltimore County Public Schools (MD); Butler County Schools (AL); Cambridge Public Schools (MA); Denver Public Schools (CO); Fulton County Schools (GA); Highland Local Schools (OH); Lewisville Independent School District (TX); Miami-Dade County Public Schools (FL); Park Hill School District (MO); Raytown Quality Schools (MO); Round Rock Independent School District (TX); and Zionsville Community Schools (IN).
 
“The need for school systems to demonstrate their commitment to protecting student information has never been greater. Boulder Valley has met the mark, developing a strong privacy framework as required by the TLE program while leveraging the benefits of educational technology,” said Keith Krueger, CEO of CoSN.
 
“The TLE Seal helps with understanding that the steps we’ve taken to ensure student data privacy are well thought out and have been implemented in a meaningful way,” said Andrew Moore, CIO for Boulder Valley School District. “The work CoSN is doing in this space adds validation that Boulder Valley School District meets a high bar on ensuring student data privacy.”
 
Boulder Valley received the Seal for demonstrating effective student data privacy practices in the following areas:
 
  • Leadership, by managing and collaborating with stakeholders regarding the use and governance of student data to inform instruction.
  • Business, by establishing acquisition vetting processes and contracts that, at minimum, address applicable compliance with laws while supporting innovation.
  • Data security, by performing regular audits of data privacy and security practices and publicly detailing these measures.  
  • Professional development, by requiring school staff to conduct privacy and security training and offering related resources to all stakeholders in the community.
  • Classroom, by implementing educational procedures and processes to ensure transparency while advancing curricular goals.
 
As a Seal recipient, Boulder Valley will be required to maintain its strong commitment to digital privacy and reapply for the TLE Seal every two years.
 
Developed for K-12 school systems and school organizations of all governance structures, the TLE Seal was formed through decades of experience and expertise from 28 school system leaders nationwide, as well as the Program’s lead partners: AASA, The School Superintendents Association; the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO); and ASCD. Their collective input identified the steps schools should take—beyond regulatory compliance—to help ensure student data privacy and security.
 
Learn more about the TLE Seal Program at: trustedlearning.org.