Keeping Student Data Safer with GAT Labs’ COPPA & FERPA Compliance

Celebrating GAT Labs’ COPPA & FERPA Compliance 🎉

Great news! The GAT Labs Suite for Education is now COPPA and FERPA-compliant and meets strict SOC 2 (Type II) standards. For schools using the GAT Suite for Education, this means that our comprehensive tools are highly effective in protecting sensitive data.

Now, school Principals and Admins can be confident that their students’ private information is safeguarded at the world-class level with GAT Labs. COPPA & FERPA compliance ensures maintaining data confidentiality, privacy, and security in the educational digital environment at all times.

Before diving into how this compliance impacts your school, let’s recall what these data protection regulations require.

What is COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998)

COPPA is US legislation that protects the data of children under the age of 13 on online websites and services.

The Act ensures children’s online safety and personal information protection and integrity. It requires the data operator (in your case, the school) to have a clear privacy policy and give students’ parents control. It includes acquiring verifiable parental consent to collect children’s data and notifying parents of any information about their children collected by the website. 

What is FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)

This federal law specifies access to personally identifiable information in the educational environment. It requires schools to protect the privacy of student records and to make them available, on request, to parents, eligible students (over 18 years old), or a third party if an eligible student or parent has given written consent. 

Compliance with this Act ensures that student education records are kept private and stored securely.

What is SOC 2 (Systems and Organization Controls 2)

SOC 2 is a compliance standard created by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). It indicates how organizations should safeguard customer (school) data from unauthorized access and security risks. 

The SOC 2 Type II report describes how efficiently the organization’s systems handle sensitive information in the cloud. The compliance report is customized to each organization’s needs and evaluates trust services criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. 

Why COPPA & FERPA Compliance Matters for Student Data Management Services

Before entrusting sensitive data to external edtech providers, educational institutions should research their privacy standards. 

The stakeholders who are compliant with COPPA, FERPA, and SOC 2:

1. Are firmly committed to creating a secure data environment for all customers.
2. Maintain secure systems and controls continuously, with data integrity and security as a priority for user identity management.
3. Ensure robust children’s online data privacy, protecting them from harmful behavior of bad individuals and inappropriate content.
4. Require parental consent to collect personal data from children under 13 years old and inform parents if they share collected data with third parties.
5. Monitor student online activity for suspicious activity to prevent data breaches and other cybersecurity risks.
6. Provide solutions and policies to restrict access to sensitive data stored in the school domain to authorized users only.
7. Safeguard student data integrity, keeping personal information accurate and storing it only in the school system for educational purposes.

GAT Labs, Your Trusted Partner in Student Data Protection

Shielding user data privacy is critical in the evolving world of new technologies. In educational environments that process a lot of sensitive data, it’s fundamental to manage them only with trustworthy solutions. 

This way, personal information about students, especially minors, remains safe and secure.

Compliance with two federal laws, FERPA and COPPA, gives GAT Labs a competitive edge. Schools meet the legal obligation to protect student data and guarantee its integrity by using our tools to audit and manage Google Workspace for Education.

In addition, while schools are becoming increasingly common victims of cybercriminals, solid cybersecurity detection and incident response solutions are crucial for student security and well-being.

GAT Labs offers a comprehensive toolset to manage and secure the Google Workspace for Education environment:

1. GAT+

It’s an incomparably comprehensive management and security solution that offers full auditing and bulk management capabilities across Drive, email, apps, classrooms, calendars, groups, contacts, and devices.

School admins gain detailed insights into user activity and data security, enhancing productivity and safety. The platform includes content-based search, alerts, and actions, ensuring swift responses to issues. 

With real-time alerts, automated reports, and compliance support, GAT+ empowers IT teams to manage permissions and track changes efficiently.

2. GAT Flow

It’s an innovative automation solution that provides comprehensive automation across the school domain, making it the most comprehensive tool for onboarding, offboarding, and bulk modifications. 

GAT Flow includes extensive Security Officer and Delegated Auditor functions, enabling non-super admin staff to perform audit and routine tasks. With its unparalleled capabilities, GAT Flow enhances productivity and security.

3. GAT Shield

GAT Shield is an advanced security solution for Chrome browsers and Chromebooks that provides detailed insights into cloud activities such as site visits, downloads, and extensions.

This tool protects students from cyberbullying and ensures safe online learning. It offers real-time monitoring and control, allowing admins to block downloads or close pages with sensitive material. 

This proactive approach secures browsing and protects data, empowering educational institutions to uphold strong security standards and support a safe, productive online experience for students and staff.

Secure Schools, Safe Students with COPPA & FERPA Compliant GAT Labs

With an extensive suite of tools for educational settings, GAT Labs facilitates compliance auditing and efficiently manages school domains. GAT Labs’ COPPA and FERPA compliance places its solutions among the top-notch Google Workspace for Education management tools. 

These solutions help educational institutions achieve strong data security, online student protection, access management, and compliance monitoring.

Contact our team now to see our features in practice. Book a demo or request a free 15-day trial today and discover how easy sensitive data management can be.