This is a COPPA overview file that I created for my division, which educates students in grades 5-8.

1. COPPA Overview
August 2012
Image credit: FTC.gov

2. Purpose
• Basic Provisions of COPPA
• IS Department advice
• Tips for compliance
• Resources

3. Basic Provisions of the Law
Website Operators Teachers
Must get permission to collect, use, or May act in place of a parent in deciding
disclose any identifiable information whether to give consent.
about a child under age 13.
Must allow parents (teachers) to review May ask to see the information submitted
personal information collected from their by students.
children(students).
Must allow parents (teachers) to revoke May revoke consent at any time and have
their consent, and delete information your students’ information deleted.
collected from children at parent’s
(teacher’s) request.

4. IS Department Advice
• The law allows teachers to act in place of
parents in deciding whether to give websites’
consent to use student information.
• Parents sign an Acceptable Use Policy when
turning in contracts. Mentions that
appropriate websites will be visited in class.

5. Tips
• Check for an education version of the site you
are interested in.
• Call/email company if the site’s privacy policy
is unclear.
• Check to see if there is a Google App that
meets your needs.

6. Frequently Used Sites that are COPPA
Friendly
• VoiceThread for Education
• All Google Apps for Education
• Aviary Education
• Tagxedo/Wordle
• Bubbl.us

7. Questions?
• For more information on the law, visit
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/
tech/tec10.shtm
• For information about the proposed revisions
to the law,
visit http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2011/09/coppa.
shtm