No, You Don't Need That Highlighter App (A discourse on Google for Education and FERPA)
As educators, parents and students around the world struggle to rapidly adapt to our changed environment, now seems like a good time for a reminder that it's ok (even necessary) to slow down and evaluate our technology adoptions. As such, I'm taking this opportunity to review some points about Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and FERPA compliance. The G Suite Terms of Service for Education Agreement is not a terribly long document, it totals out at just over 12 pages. When a school district signs up to use Google Apps for Education, someone authorizes this agreement. In it, Google asserts that they will act as a "school official" with regards to the data they receive. There are two very important things to remember about this agreement however: This agreement applies to Google's Core Services and does NOT apply to additional services (explicitly noted in the GAFE privacy policy .) It is still the responsibility of the district to configure the G Suite