West Chester Area School District uses many valuable online tools to further curricular goals, personalize learning, and meet necessary data management and reporting functions. Some of these online tools are used by teachers in the delivery of instruction and require student account creation and storage of student work to perform their intended functions. Other agencies and companies provide certain administrative and technical services and support that either requires data be stored on their servers or access to our systems is granted to facilitate performance of certain defined functions. The District protects student privacy in compliance with applicable federal laws and school board policies. Federal privacy laws do allow sharing of what may constitute an educational record in limited circumstances. Read more information about student privacy protections. 

Any software service provider and contractor with whom the District contracts agrees to protect student privacy using all commercially reasonable means and complies with all federal laws prohibiting use of student information for commercial marketing purposes. Read more information on student protection from commercial marketing. However, there are many online tools, collectively referred to as Web 2.0 or interactive web apps, that teachers may choose to use in their classrooms to reinforce or extend the course curriculum. Many popular providers of instructional content and assessment materials online have already pledged to be compliant with federal student privacy and freedom from commercial marketing protections. A list of these providers can be found here. Teachers may select from these providers. View a list of the Web 2.0 providers currently used in West Chester classrooms. Additionally, a list of all approved iPad apps can be found here. Check back periodically for updates.

The District also provides online storage, productivity, and collaboration applications, and e-mail services to students using Google's G Suite for Education. This service, as well as authorized third-party partner providers, allows the District to manage and monitor student use of these services in accordance with our Acceptable Use Policy and the G Suite's privacy protections.

For more information about protecting student privacy, visit Student Privacy Compass (Formerly FERPA/Sherpa): The Education Privacy Resource Center.