Data Practices and Student Privacy

UTVA’s Meta Data Dictionary

The Metadata Dictionary is a required online portal by state law (the Student Data Protection Act, U.C.A §53E-9-301(14) and U.C.A §53E-9-303(b). The purpose of the Dictionary is to speak to questions of data privacy and ultimately to transparency—allowing parents and students to know what data is being collected and with whom it is being shared with. All student data that is sent to a third-party vendor must be catalogued on the Utah State Board of Education’s Metadata Dictionary. The Metadata Dictionary is open to the public and contains a list of approved online entities that UTVA has engaged in partnerships. The Metadata Dictionary can be found here.

Student Data Collection Notice

Utah Virtual Academy (the “School”) collects student data for two main purposes: to comply with law and to improve students’ educational experience.  Student data enables the School to participate in education programs and to qualify for education funds.  Student data also helps the School to better plan and personalize classroom instruction, increase student and teacher performance, and make informed decisions.

Student data collected by the School includes data defined as “necessary student data” and “optional student data” in Utah Code § 53E-9-301.  A list of the data the School collects under these categories is included on the second page of this Notice.  The School collects student data primarily through registration, but it also collects additional student data during the school year.  The School does not collect student social security numbers or, except as required in Utah Code § 80-6-103, criminal records.

The School strives to not share personally identifiable student data (“PII”) unless the sharing is in accordance with Utah’s student privacy and data protection laws and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”).  Except as allowed by law, the School will not share PII externally without written consent.  Some examples of where the School is allowed by law to share PII without written consent include sharing such data with an authorized caseworker or other representative of the Department of Health and Human Services, in response to a valid subpoena, or to persons or entities qualifying as school officials under FERPA.      

The School takes many measures to protect student data. Student data stored digitally is stored on computers and systems that are secured, maintained, and supported by qualified IT service providers.  Confidential PII in print form is stored in secured, locked areas in the School. 

A student’s rights under Utah Code § 53E-9-301 through -310 include:

• Each student owns his or her PII.  A student and his or her parent must be allowed to access such student data maintained by the School;  
• A student’s parent or guardian, or an adult student, has the right to be notified by the School if a significant data breach occurs at the School; 
• A prior student or parent of a prior student is entitled to have certain of the prior student’s student data that is stored by the School expunged in accordance with the law and State Board of Education rules; and
• A student is entitled to receive a student data collection notice from the School prior to the School collecting necessary or optional student data of the student.

The collection, use, and sharing of student data has both benefits and risks.  Parents and students should learn about these benefits and risks and make choices regarding student data accordingly.

Necessary Student Data

• Name (first, middle, and last);
• Date of birth;
• Sex;
• Parent contact information (including full name, relationship to student, home address, phone number(s), and email address); 
• Custodial parent information (including contact information, whether living with student, and existence of any legal documents regarding custody of student);
• Contact information (including phone number, home/mailing address, and/or email address);
• A student identification number;
• Local, state, and national assessment results or an exception from taking a local, state, or national assessment;
• Courses taken and completed, credits earned, and other transcript information;
• Course grades and grade point average;
• Grade level and expected graduation date or graduation cohort;
• Degree, diploma, credential attainment, and other school exit information;
• Attendance and mobility;
• Drop-out data;
• Immunization record or an exception from an immunization record;
• Race;
• Ethnicity;
• Tribal affiliation;
• Remediation efforts;
• An exception from a vision screening required under Utah Code § 53G-9-404 or information collected from a vision screening required under Utah Code § 53G-9-404;
• Information related to the Utah Registry of Autism and Developmental Disabilities;
• Student injury information;
• A disciplinary record created and maintained as described in Utah Code § 53E-9-306;
• Juvenile delinquency records;
• English language learner status (including whether child speaks a language other than English); 
• Child find and special education evaluation data related to initiation of an IEP; and
• Information related to School’s Fee Waiver Application, including household income verification, whether student receives SSI benefits, whether family receives TANF, and whether student is in foster care or in state custody.

Optional Student Data

• Information that is not “necessary student data” described above but is related to a student’s IEP, needed to provide special needs services or that is required for a student to participate in a federal or other program;
• A student’s preferred first, middle, and last name (but only if different than student’s legal names);
• A student’s homelessness status;
• A student’s birthplace, including whether a student was born outside of the United States; 
• A student’s disciplinary history, including whether a student has ever been suspended or expelled from school and if the student has any disciplinary action pending from the student’s previous school of enrollment;
• A student’s emergency contact information (including name, relationship to student, and phone number(s));
• Information needed for School to facilitate transfer of a student’s student records from previous school, including:
  • Whether student currently resides in Utah;
  • District boundaries in which student lives;
  • School boundaries in which student lives;
  • Whether student has pre-registered with a school other than the school located in the school boundaries in which student lives;
  • Name and contact information (address and phone number) of the school in which the student has pre-registered;
• A student’s health or disability data (health data collected includes vision and hearing impairment, medical conditions, medications taken during school hours, allergies, special dietary needs, and other).