The Raytown School District has earned renewal of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) Trusted Learning Environment (TLE) Seal through 2020, recognizing the district’s commitment to ensure the privacy and security of student data.

The District was one of seven districts in the nation to receive the CoSN TLE Seal in 2016, out of nearly 90 school district applicants nationwide and is one of only two districts from around the Kansas City metro and one of only 16 districts nationwide to earn the TLE Seal.

Developed for all K-12 schools nationwide, the TLE Seal was formed through the input from 28 school system leaders, as well as CoSN and lead partners: AASA, The School Superintendents Association; the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO); and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). Their collective expertise and experiences pinpointed the steps schools should take— beyond regulatory compliance—to help ensure student data privacy and security.

“Data privacy is a priority at Raytown Quality Schools,” Director of Instructional Technology Melissa Tebbenkamp said. “Over the past several years we have developed policies, procedures and practices to ensure the security of all of our data. It is an honor to be recognized this for effort.”

In order to demonstrate continued commitment to digital privacy, districts must reapply for the TLE Seal every two years. The districts were chosen by CoSN for demonstrating effective practices in each of the following areas:

Leadership, including managing and collaborating with stakeholders regarding the use and governance of student data to inform instruction.

Business, including establishing acquisition vetting processes and contracts that, at minimum, address applicable compliance with laws while supporting innovation.
Data Security, including performing regular audits of data privacy and security practices and publicly detailing these measures.

Professional Development, including requiring school staff to conduct privacy and security training and offering related resources to all stakeholders in the community.
Classroom, including implementing educational procedures and processes to ensure transparency while advancing curricular goals.

In addition to the TLE Seal, the Raytown School District is a Common Sense Digital Citizen Certified District for preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn.

To learn more about the TLE Seal, please visit trustedlearning.org.