Let's understand key federal laws (FERPA, COPPA, PPRA), know why free/public AI tools can’t handle student dat, and learn safe paths.
Three federal laws protect student privacy.
FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protects student education records such as grades and attendance.
COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) limits how online services can collect data from children under 13.
PPRA (Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment) requires parental notice for sensitive student surveys.
The key protected term is PII (Personally Identifiable Information)—any detail (name, ID, photo, or a combination of details) that can identify a specific student. You must never input PII into public or free AI tools because these vendors do not have a contract (Data Processing Agreement, or DPA) with the school district to protect that data. The safe paths are: 1) Use district-approved education accounts, or 2) Strictly remove all PII from your prompts and inputs (de-identification)
