Senate Bill 29

In response to Ohio Senate Bill 29 (SB 29), the Avon Lake City School District is committed to ensuring transparency regarding how the District protects student privacy against unauthorized access while using school technology, as well as the circumstances in which the District may access or monitor certain student activity.

What is Senate Bill 29?

Ohio Senate Bill 29 was enacted to protect student data privacy and ensure that parents are informed about how student information is handled by schools. The bill outlines several requirements for school districts which include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Parental Notifications: Schools must provide annual notice to parents on how student devices are monitored, what student data is shared with third parties, and which vendors have access to student data.
  • Vendor Agreements: Only vendors with approved data privacy agreements are permitted to handle student information. These agreements ensure that student data is used securely and only for educational purposes.
  • Device Monitoring: School districts or technology providers may generally monitor school-issued devices for non-commercial educational purposes for instruction,
    technical support, or exam proctoring by District employees, student teachers, contracted staff, vendors, or the Department of Education and Workforce. Districts or their technology providers may also generally monitor a school-issued device when it is necessary to comply with federal or state law and to participate in federal and state funding programs; as well as to prevent or respond to a threat to life or safety, and the access is limited to that purpose. Additionally, a district or its technology provider may generally access or monitor a school-issued device when it becomes aware that the device is missing or stolen or if such action is permitted under a judicial warrant or subpoena, unless otherwise prohibited by state or federal law.

How Does Avon Lake City Schools Comply?

Avon Lake City Schools takes student the issues surrounding the privacy of student data and the monitoring of school-issued devices very seriously. As such, in compliance with SB 29 the District has instituted the following measures: 

  • Monitoring of Student Devices: For each of the above-referenced permissible reasons, the District, or its approved technology provider(s) may access or monitor a school issued device through student interaction(s) with the device, including but not limited to: keystrokes; web-browsing activity; location tracking features; and/or audio or visual receiving, transmitting or recording features.
  • Approved Vendor List: The District only works with vendors who have signed, and agreed to comply with, Data Privacy Agreements for any program collecting student data or information via login or registration for accounts. You can view a complete list of approved vendors, their corresponding Data Privacy Agreements, and a list of the education records which may be impacted by those Data Privacy Agreements, on the District’s website or at: https://sdpc.a4l.org/district_listing.php?districtID=4589.
  • Parental Notifications: The District will provide this notice annually, and on an as needed basis, regarding the monitoring of student devices and sharing of student data.
  • Google Utilization: The District currently uses Google Core Services for instructional purposes. Google “Core Services” are Assignments, Calendar, Classroom, Cloud Search, Drive and Docs, Gmail, Google Chat, Google Chrome Sync, Google Meet, Google Vault, Groups for Business, Jamboard, Keep, Migrate, Sites, Tasks. Only Workspace "Core Services" are approved for use. For more information regarding Google Workspace Core Services, please see: https://workspace.google.com/intl/en/terms/user_features.html.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this notification please contact Scott Wuensch, Director of Technology, at scott.wuensch@alcsoh.org or (440) 933-6290.