Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act - FERPA
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is commonly referred to as FERPA. To learn more about FERPA, visit the U.S. Department of Education website.

The General Counsel’s office has posted several memos and tip sheets regarding FERPA on their website. The FERPA guidance covers requests for student records and free and reduced meal information.

Additionally the U.S. Department of Education has developed a Student Privacy 101 video for parents and students to learn more. View the video on YouTube or the US DOE Student Privacy website. 

At the start of each school year, PPS sends home required annual notices to families through registration and back to school packets. Among other important information, these notices include families rights via FERPA.

Acceptable Use Policy
All individuals, including employees, students, family and community members, contractors, and volunteers, who access the district’s network and uses devices must follow the Acceptable Use Policy (8.60.041-AD). The IT department has developed a student-friendly poster version of the the AUP which is available on the IT website. Copies of this student-friendly AUP poster have been ponied to your schools to hang in the office, libraries, and computer labs.

At this time we also want to remind staff of some password security best practices.

As a PPS employee, your username and password provide access to multiple information systems (appropriate for your position) that contain confidential and sensitive information.  Some examples are:

• Microsoft O365 Email - Some emails are confidential or sensitive.
• Oracle PeopleSoft and Employee Self Service - Where your personal and payroll information is stored and updated.
• EduPoint Synergy - Where student and family information is stored and updated.

When accessing information systems, the following best practices must be followed:

1. Your password should never be shared with anyone, nor should it be written down where someone could find it (i.e. those sticky notes on your computer monitor, under a keyboard or in a desk drawer, or written on a lesson plan, etc.).
2. Do not provide your username and password to a substitute or other individual filling in for you (classroom, office, administration, etc.). This is not an acceptable practice and is in direct violation of the AUP.
3. If you will be out of the office/classroom and another person will be filling in for you, they need to use their own login account. If additional access is required to complete the assignment, the IT Service Desk can assist.
   All PPS employees (including substitute teachers, secretaries, administrators, coaches, etc.) receive a PPS account.
   You are responsible for the safe keeping of your password and any use of your account to access information systems

The PPS IT Department and Library Services have collaborated to recommend curriculum for teaching digital citizenship concepts. This instruction is aligned with the Oregon Library Standards, Common Core Standards, and ISTE Student Standards. Recommended digital citizenship lessons for each grade level are outlined at the links at the top of the page.

Each school may develop a comprehensive plan for lesson delivery. For example, a school’s teacher-librarian and/or individual classroom teacher could cover these lessons in the course of a year or during October for Digital Citizenship Month!

You can view the curriculum at bit.do/ppsdigcit

If you have questions about the PPS curriculum please contact:

Melissa Lim 
Learning, Teaching & Technology
Phone: (503)916-3030

Webpage / Blog / Twitter / Book an Appointment

Library Services
Phone: (503) 916-3267
ppslibraries@pps.net

Learning how to identify phishing and scam emails and how to fact-check information you read online is extremely important, especially in today’s world of fake news.  Here are a few resources to help you better identify the legitimacy of the website or email.

This Common Sense Media poster helps you to identify if information is legitimate or fake. The Department of Homeland has a great poster with information on how to help determine if an email is real or fake.

Common Sense Media

• Digital Citizenship
• Privacy Evaluations

Department of Homeland Security

• Stop.Think.Connect

Federal Bureau of Investigation

• Protecting Yourself Online in an Interconnected World

PPS IT Website

• Internet Safety Resources for Parents
• Safe Surfing Guide
• Social Media and Internet Safety

PPS Student Support, Health & Wellness Website