Protecting Student Information at Ridgefield Public Schools

Technology belongs in Ridgefield classrooms because it helps students create, collaborate, and learn in ways that matter. That trust depends on a promise: the tools we put in front of children protect the information those children share. We take that promise seriously, and this page explains how we keep it.

Every digital tool used with Ridgefield students is reviewed before it reaches a classroom. We examine how each company collects, stores, and uses student information, and we approve a tool only when it meets the standards set by Connecticut law and our own district requirements. Good technology and strong privacy are not in tension. The vetting is what makes confident, creative use possible.

The Laws That Protect Your Child

Ridgefield complies with the federal and state laws governing student information:

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents the right to review those records.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) limits how companies may collect personal information from children under 13.

The Connecticut Student Data Privacy Act (C.G.S. §§ 10-234aa through 10-234ff) goes further than federal law. It sets specific requirements for how districts and their vendors handle personally identifiable student information, and it governs every contract we sign for a tool that touches student data.

Connecticut’s law is among the strongest in the nation. It is the floor we build on, not the ceiling we reach for.

How We Vet a Tool Before It Reaches Your Child

Before any application is approved for student use, the Technology Department reviews the company’s privacy policy and terms of service, and requires the company to sign a binding data privacy agreement built on Connecticut’s statewide standard. That agreement holds vendors to protections that include:

Student data belongs to Ridgefield, never to the company. The company cannot sell it, and cannot use it to advertise to students.
Student data may not be used to train artificial intelligence systems without the district’s written consent.
The company must notify the district within 48 hours if student data is ever exposed in a security breach, and the district then notifies affected families.
The company must protect data with strong encryption, restricted access, and independent security auditing.
When a contract ends, the company must return and delete all student data.

A tool that will not meet these terms does not get used in Ridgefield. This is what allows a teacher to reach for a new app with confidence, and a parent to trust what happens on the screen.

See the Tools We Use

Ridgefield vets every application before it reaches a classroom, and we hold each vendor to the standards described above. For families who want to explore further, Connecticut maintains a statewide resource:

The Connecticut Educational Software Hub, operated by the state’s Commission for Educational Technology, lists educational software companies that have pledged compliance with Connecticut’s student data privacy law and provided supporting documentation. You can learn about the Hub and access it through the Commission’s Student Data Privacy page:

Connecticut Commission for Educational Technology: Student Data Privacy

A note on what this list means. A company’s presence on the statewide Hub reflects its pledge to comply with Connecticut law. Ridgefield holds vendors to a higher bar: before a tool is used with our students, the vendor must sign the district’s own data privacy agreement, built on Connecticut’s statewide standard and strengthened with additional protections. The statewide Hub is a useful reference; our district review is the safeguard.

A Ridgefield-specific directory of approved applications is in development and will be published here when available. In the meantime, families with questions about any specific tool can contact the Technology Department using the information below.

Questions, Requests, and Your Rights

Connecticut law gives parents and guardians the right to review the personally identifiable information contained in their child’s student data and to correct any errors. To make a request, or to ask any question about how a specific tool handles your child’s information, contact the Technology Department:

Ridgefield Public Schools Technology Department
Dr. Taylor Wrye, Director of Educational Technology
twrye@ridgefieldps.net | 203-894-5550, ext. 1100

We will respond, coordinate with the vendor when needed, and process any records request consistent with the district’s FERPA procedures.

For Educators: Requesting a New Tool

Ridgefield teachers who want to use a new application follow a review process that protects students, keeps the district compliant, and confirms the tool belongs in the curriculum. The process moves in order, because a tool that cannot clear the privacy requirement will not be used regardless of its instructional value.

Step 1: Start with the Helpdesk.

If the tool requires no login, account, or personal data, and is age-appropriate for its purpose, you may use it. When in doubt, ask your building leadership or the Helpdesk.

If the tool requires student login, account creation, or any student data, it must go through review before use. Begin by contacting the Helpdesk.

If the tool is free, the Helpdesk will begin the privacy and security evaluation.
If the tool has a cost, the funding source must be identified by the building principal or the Curriculum and Instruction Department before review begins.

Step 2: Data privacy review and signed agreement.

The Technology Department reviews the vendor’s privacy and security practices and secures a signed data privacy agreement built on Connecticut’s statewide standard. No tool that collects student data advances without this signed agreement in place. This is the gate that protects students, and it comes first for a reason: if a vendor will not sign, the tool goes no further, and no one spends time evaluating a tool that was never going to be approved.

Step 3: Curricular review and approval.

Once a tool has a signed data privacy agreement, it moves to the Curriculum and Instruction Department for instructional review. A tool is approved for classroom use only when it is applicable to the curriculum and supported by best pedagogical practice. Technology confirms a tool is safe to use; Curriculum and Instruction confirms it is worth using. Both are required.

Questions about the process? Email the Helpdesk at helpdesk@ridgefieldps.net.