Safeguarding student data is an essential responsibility for all people who work in education. Denver Public Schools has created a training video for all staff to ensure they are protecting student data, and that all members of Team DPS are in compliance with the state and federal laws regarding student data privacy. All DPS staff, regardless of their role in the district, are required to complete this training.

How to Access the Video

We have made this video available to individual staff users through our Infor Learning Management System. To access the video, please click this link (.pdf) and follow these steps:

1. Login with DPS credentials. This is the same you use to access webmail and other DPS systems.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the blue   Register   button for the “Student Data Privacy 2018” course.
3. Once registered, you can click the blue   Launch   button to begin the course.
4. Once you view the video, complete the quiz and the acknowledgments at the end to receive credit for the course.

Important! While you can return to the course at any time, once you click “Begin Training” you will need to watch the video in its entirety and complete the quiz questions at the end to receive credit.

Required Video FAQs:

Who needs to watch the video?

• This video is required for all DPS staff, not just teachers and principals.

I am having difficulty finding or accessing the video in Infor Learning Space. Where is it?

• Please refer to the steps above for a step-by-step guide on how to access the video. If you are still unable to locate it, please go to the Employee Action Center for more information.

How long is this training valid for?

• Once you complete the training, it is valid for the duration of your employment with DPS. This is a change from previous years where the video needed to be watched annually.

Can I watch the video with my team or department?

• No, the training must be completed independently. This is a change from previous years where the video could be watched in a group. The reason for this change is because there is now a quiz and acknowledgment section included at the end of the video.

1. Before you use any software that includes any student data, go and check the “Contract Providers” section, to see which tools have a Data Protection Addendum and are clear to use (either with a districtwide contract or if your school is planning to contract through Strategic Sourcing).
2. If a tool is not listed, you need Parent Consent.
   • Go to the district Academic Technology Menu and click on District Usage Reporting to use the reporting process. (More details can be found here (.pdf).)
   • Work with your school leader on collecting Parent Consent.
   • Don't use a student's data in a tool if you don't have parent consent.
3. Student data can also be anonymized.
   • This means that wherever you are putting a student's name, you instead put in anonymous information. So instead of a student's first name, you would put "Blue" and instead of the last name, you would put "Bonnet" or "Bunny" or "Suede Shoes".
   • This could be unwieldy for you as a teacher to keep track of which student is "Blue Bonnet" and which is "Red Rover".
   • If students are putting other data into the system that could be construed as personally identifiable or as part of their student record, this still wouldn't do the job. You'd still want to get parent consent.

1. If you don’t see a tool listed on the “Contract Provider” section, you need Parent Consent.
2. Go to the district Academic Technology Menu and click on District Usage Reporting to use the reporting process. (More details can be found here (.pdf).)
3. Report all resources and tools that are used school-wide.
4. Set a date for your teachers to have all their online tools reported and inform your teachers of that deadline.
5. On that date, distribute the Parent Consent Letter:Here is the Parent Consent Form for a School Leader to customize and send out.Click here for a video on setting up the Parent Consent letter
   • Other languages can be found below:
   • Spanish
   • Burmese
   • Somali
   • Amharic
   • Russian
   • Nepali
   • French
   • Vietnamese
   • Arabic
6. Collect consent forms.
7. Record the returned ones.
8. Chase down the ones that haven't been returned.
9. Don’t enter student data into online systems without parent consent.
10. When you add online tools during the course of the year to the list published to parents, notify parents. (Example letter can be found here (.pdf).)

1. Don't store student data on flash drives. They are easy to lose and could put the data at risk.
2. Be careful about storing student data on your cell phone and laptop.
3. If you lose a flash drive, cell phone or laptop, make sure to tell your supervisor so that the District can take appropriate actions in response.
4. Don't send student data to anyone that doesn't have a legitimate educational need for it.
   • This is especially true of anyone not working for Denver Public Schools
   • Even with other DPS employees, only send the data that is needed to the people who need it.
5. Be careful about putting student data into emails because those emails could be an educational record. Keep in mind that parents and others can read the emails if they ask to see them.
6. Don't store student data in online services such as Dropbox or your personal Google account. If you need to store student data in a cloud service, use your district Google Drive.
7. Even when you use your district Google Drive, make sure that the sharing permissions on the document, sheet, or folder are locked down as tightly as they can be. If you need help with this, go check out http://googlesupport.dpsk12.net

Social media is widely used and can be an asset both within the classroom and when connecting with parents, guardians, and our students’ communities. However, it is vital that Denver Public Schools’ employees adhere to   Board Policy EGAEA-R2 - Regulation of Social Media Use when utilizing these tools. Please review to ensure any usage of social media is in compliance with this policy.

Additionally, the use of student images on a personal social media account is prohibited. The use of student images on a district social media account is prohibited unless the student’s family has signed a media release form.

For a summary on using social media in DPS, please click here.

For more in depth guidance on social media use in DPS, please click here.