Data Privacy and Security
The City School District of Albany is committed to protecting student data in accordance with State Federal laws and regulations, including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), Children's Internet Privacy Act (CIPA) and New York State Education Law § 2-d (and the Part 121 Amendment).
To affirm our commitment to safeguarding student personally identifiable information (PII) in educational records from unauthorized access or disclosure in accordance with State and Federal law, we have established our parental bill of rights regarding data privacy and security.
Under federal and New York State law and regulations, Parents and Guardians are entitled to certain protections of their student’s data.
You have the following rights:
1. Your child's data is prohibited from being sold. It cannot be used for any commercial or marketing purpose. It cannot be shared with an unauthorized person.
2. You have the right to inspect and review the contents of your child's education records from their school. You have the right to see the records within 45 days and to dispute any inaccuracies.
3. Your child’s data must be protected using high standards and best practices. Some of these practices include encryption, firewalls, and passwords to protect student data.
4. You have the right to file a complaint regarding a breach and have it addressed within 60 days. You should first attempt to resolve the complaint with your school. If you are unable to resolve the complaint at the school level, you may file a complaint with the New York State Education Department at:
Chief Privacy Officer
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue. Room 152EB
Albany, New York 12234
Privacy@nysed.gov
5. You can get a list of all data elements collected by the State online or by writing to:
Office of Information & Reporting Services
New York State Education Department, Room 863 EBA
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12234
6. You must receive an annual notice of your rights to inspect and review your child’s education record from your district.
In addition to your rights as a parent, schools have many obligations regarding student data including, but not limited to: a requirement to publish the Parents’ Bill of Rights on their website; to tell you within 60 calendar days, if your child’s data has been breached; to publish on their website supplemental information regarding the third party contractors the school is sharing student data with; and to address using minimal data, data deletion and data protection when sharing student data with third party contractors.
District resources
Board Policy 5500 | Student Records (FERPA)
Board Policy 5550 | Student Privacy
Board Policy 8635 | Information and Data Privacy Security, Breach, and Notification
Additional resources
1. Submit your concern online using this form
OR
2. Download, complete, print and mail this form to:
Data Protection Officer
Office of Assessment, Accountability & Technology Innovation
33 Essex Street
Albany, NY 12206
Have questions?
Director of Data and Accountability
