A new program is making it easier for district leaders to make smart, safe choices.
GUEST COLUMN | by Chad Stevens
COMMON SENSE
In today’s digitally connected classrooms, the tools we use to communicate and teach are only as strong as the safeguards behind them. Families expect—and deserve—privacy-first platforms. For district leaders, protecting student data isn’t just a legal responsibility, it’s a matter of trust.
Keeping student data secure isn’t optional, it’s mission-critical for every K–12 school system. And choosing communication tools with transparent, high-standard privacy practices is a key part of that responsibility. With cyberattacks targeting school systems on the rise, and growing awareness among families about how data is used, privacy can no longer be treated as an afterthought.
‘Keeping student data secure isn’t optional, it’s mission-critical for every K–12 school system.’
Cutting Through Complexity with the Privacy Seal
But evaluating digital privacy policies from multiple edtech providers can be overwhelming. Many are dense, jargon-filled, and time-consuming to decode. That’s why Common Sense Education launched a new program designed to cut through the complexity: the Common Sense Privacy Seal.
This initiative gives school leaders a fast, trustworthy signal that a product takes privacy seriously. Companies that volunteer for the program are evaluated against a rigorous rubric that goes far beyond basic compliance—covering everything from data sharing to ad tracking and commercial profiling.
To qualify for the seal, companies must answer more than 200 questions and submit to quarterly checkups. They must update their privacy policy at least annually—and immediately when any major change occurs. The bar is high, and it should be.
Common Sense’s evaluation framework centers around six core privacy best practices:
– No data sales
– No third-party marketing
– No targeted advertisements
– No third-party tracking
– No cross-app tracking
– No commercial profiling
By holding companies accountable to these standards, the Privacy Seal helps school leaders make smart decisions quickly, and with confidence. With so many products on the market and limited time to evaluate each one, this kind of clarity is invaluable.
The District Leader’s Reality
As someone who has served as a district CTO, I’ve seen how hard it is to make informed decisions under pressure. Legal teams, tech teams, and instructional leaders all have valid perspectives—but aligning them can be tough without a clear external benchmark. A single vague clause in a privacy policy can spark hours of back-and-forth or raise flags with families. The Privacy Seal helps simplify that process.
‘A single vague clause in a privacy policy can spark hours of back-and-forth or raise flags with families. The Privacy Seal helps simplify that process.’
Many CTOs are responsible for overseeing hundreds of tools across dozens of campuses. They’re navigating vendor agreements, security protocols, instructional fit, and budget constraints, all while fielding questions from school boards, families, and the media. In that environment, tools like the Common Sense Privacy Seal aren’t just helpful—they’re essential.
Our free home-school communication platform used by more than 45 million students, teachers, and families, was one of the first companies to earn the seal. Fewer than 1 in 10 companies evaluated have met the criteria—and my company tied for the most secure and privacy-friendly K–12 system reviewed, with a 93% compliance score.
That didn’t surprise us. As a company serving millions of students around the world, we follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one of the world’s most stringent privacy frameworks. Every piece of data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Third-party data usage is contractually limited. And parents must give consent before any personal data is collected.
In Common Sense’s evaluation, we earned perfect scores in three areas: data sharing and security, data safety (no interaction with unverified users or public display of personal information), and parental consent. These safeguards are table stakes for any platform working with kids, and we’re proud to uphold them.
Building Trust with Families
For district leaders, the Privacy Seal offers something rare in the edtech landscape: instant clarity. Instead of spending hours parsing legal language or trying to compare policies, you can look for the seal and know that a platform meets high standards. It’s one less thing to worry about, and one more way to keep families safe and informed.
Beyond saving time, the Privacy Seal helps district leaders make decisions they can defend and stand behind. When a product is verified by a trusted third party, it becomes easier to justify that choice to stakeholders, and easier to explain those choices to families who care deeply about where their child’s data goes.
‘When a product is verified by a trusted third party, it becomes easier to justify that choice to stakeholders, and easier to explain those choices to families who care deeply about where their child’s data goes.’
Ultimately, privacy compliance isn’t just about checkboxes. It’s about building trust with families, future-proofing your district, and ensuring that every product you put in front of students has been vetted with care.
As more new tools enter the classroom and the digital learning landscape expands, programs like the Common Sense Privacy Seal offer the kind of transparency and accountability we need. Because protecting student data isn’t just a policy decision—it’s a promise to families, to students, and to the future of public education.
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Chad Stevens is the Head of K–12 Engagement at ClassDojo. Before working in the private sector, he was a teacher, principal, adjunct professor, and school district Chief Technology Officer. Connect with Chad on LinkedIn.
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