COPPA

North Thurston Public Schools (NTPS) provides our students with access to various third-party websites, applications, and other online resources to support student learning (the “Online Resources”). These Online Resources include Google Apps for Education, Canvas, and other similar educational programs.

For our students to use these resources, the third-party operators of these Online Resources may collect certain personally identifying information (e.g., the students' first and last name, username, and district email address). Under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), these third-party operators must notify parents/guardians and obtain consent before collecting personal information of students under the age of 13. However, COPPA allows education institutions like NTPS to consent to this collection on behalf of parents, as long as the use of the personal information collected is limited to an educational context and is not used for any other commercial purpose.

This notice is intended to inform you about the Online Resources that have been approved for use at NTPS schools and to give parents/guardians of students under the age of 13 an opportunity to opt out of their child’s use of such Online Resources. A link to our current list of Online Resources, which includes links to their terms of service and privacy policies, is provided at the bottom of this page. If you would like a specific list of the Online Resources that will be available in your child’s classroom, please contact your student’s teacher(s).

If you are the parent or guardian of a student under the age of 13 and at any time wish to opt out of your child’s use of Online Resources, you may do so by completing the Opt-Out Form available below and returning it as described in the form. Please note that opting out of the use of Online Resources may affect your child’s interaction in the classroom and ability to participate in certain learning activities.

If parents/guardians do not opt out, they will be deemed to have agreed to NTPS consenting on their behalf to the use of the Online Resources and the collection of information from their child in connection therewith.

Note that all students in kindergarten through 8th grade can only use their district email accounts to email NTPS staff members and their fellow students and cannot use district email accounts to send to or receive email messages from external addresses. All student communications through district email, internal or external, at all grade levels are filtered, archived, and can be monitored by the district.

More Information

• Frequently Asked Questions about COPPA (Federal Trade Commission website)
• Student Privacy Pledge (Future of Privacy Forum)