Intro to the Privacy Practices Benchmark
Each year, school districts and charter schools are required to submit evidence to the Student Data Privacy Team at USBE to demonstrate compliance with federal and state privacy regulations.
Authority
State Code
Our team is directed by Utah Code 53E-9-302 to ensure compliance with student privacy laws.
"The state student data officer shall... ensure compliance with student privacy laws throughout the public education system...."
Board Rule
Board Rule R277-487-3 requires districts and charters to provide the following to the state Superintendent
through our team:
- Contact information
- Evidence that the following has been implemented:
- SDPA, GDPA, FERPA, and PPRA
- Other privacy practices identified by the Superintendent
- A cybersecurity framework.
Instructions
In October each year, the registered data manager will receive a self-assessment survey from our team, typically due early November. The self-assessment will evaluate your district or charter's maturity in one of five focus areas (standards), which rotate each year.
Ideally, you should work with relevant parties in your school or district to fill out the self-assessment.
At the end of the survey, you'll be asked to select a goal that you will work on throughout the year. The following May, you'll receive an additional survey to report the progress on that goal.
Resources
Please refer to the 2026-2027 Professional Development Practices Packet for information about:
- Relevant terminology
- The standards for this year
- Information about goal setting
- Resources and logistics, including links for webinar registration