A consistent concern and challenge for educators is managing and protecting student data. While cloud technology has helped make teaching easier during COVID-19, districts, principals, and teachers are wise to take appropriate precautions for making sure student data is handled well.

Two major federal laws govern student privacy and data management: the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). It’s important that any technology your school uses is fully FERPA and COPPA compliant. Sharing the privacy policy can be helpful when you district administrators or principal are considering a purchase.

SmartMusic, of course, is fully in line with both these federal laws, as well as GDPR (a privacy law applying to the European Union) and state and local privacy laws as well. You can read the entire SmartMusic privacy policy here.

Accessing and Using Student Data

Because SmartMusic securely stores your students’ data in the cloud, you retain protected access to it, even after you archive a class. We keep this archived data at the same level of privacy we use for active students. 

Teachers can always go back to previous terms or school years and listen to student recordings or review grades in the SmartMusic Gradebook. This provides an excellent way to collect portfolios of student work, document student progress across grade levels, and share that work with parents or administrators.

SmartMusic takes privacy and data security seriously, so you and your school never have to worry that student data is unprotected. Submit questions about SmartMusic’s privacy policy here.