Safety & Privacy
Student-facing AI raises the privacy bar above a teacher-only drafting tool. Here is what SchoolAI does about it, what it means in plain English, and what to check before your students join a Space.
Certifications, translated
FERPA compliant. FERPA is the US law protecting student education records. SchoolAI commits contractually to handling student data under FERPA rules — the same expectation your district has of any edtech vendor.
COPPA compliant. COPPA governs data collection from children under 13. Compliance matters most for elementary use, where the rules are strictest.
1EdTech certified. An independent certification that the platform meets education-industry standards for data privacy and interoperability with school systems.
SOC 2 certified. An independent audit of the company’s security practices — how data is stored, who can access it, and how breaches are handled.
These certifications genuinely help with district approval. They do not replace your IT department’s own review — every district does its own vetting, and you should expect that.
Real-time monitoring and flagging
Every Space conversation is visible to the teacher through Mission Control — full transcripts, not summaries. On top of that, the platform actively monitors for concerning signals such as bullying, abuse, and neglect, and flags them for teacher attention. This is a safety net, not a replacement for your judgment: review flagged conversations yourself and follow your school’s existing reporting procedures for anything serious.
What data is collected
Keep this general, because specifics live in the vendor’s privacy policy and your district’s agreement: Space conversation transcripts, account information for the teacher, and usage data. Practical rules that keep you safe regardless of the fine print: do not have students enter full names, addresses, or sensitive personal details into a Space; use first names or initials; and never configure an activity that requires a student to share personal information beyond what the join code already handles.
Student access and age considerations
Students join Spaces with a code — no accounts, no passwords, no personal profiles to create. That keeps the data footprint small by design. Even so, AI tools carry age expectations (general chatbots typically require 13+, with parent consent below 18 in many regions), and your district may have its own policy on student AI use. SchoolAI’s model is teacher-supervised use, not unsupervised browsing — but confirm your district’s stance before the first session, especially in elementary grades.
District approval checklist
Take this to your IT department or edtech coordinator before scaling beyond a pilot:
- Vendor’s FERPA and COPPA compliance documentation on file
- Data processing agreement (DPA) reviewed and signed by the district
- IT security review completed — ask what their standard questionnaire covers
- Roster method confirmed: students join by code, so no bulk upload of student PII is needed
- Parent notification handled per district policy for student-facing software
- Pilot scope defined: which classes, how long, what success looks like