FERPA & COPPA Compliance

FERPA compliance

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records. STAR Autism Support® acts as a "school official" with a "legitimate educational interest" when providing services to schools and districts, as defined by 34 CFR § 99.31(a)(1).

Student data we receive from districts is used solely to provide and improve the contracted educational services. We do not use student data for marketing or other unrelated purposes.

Districts maintain ownership and control of their student data. Upon contract termination, we will return or destroy student data per the district's instruction.

COPPA compliance

COPPA applies when collecting personal information from children under 13. STAR products that students interact with directly are designed for use under school authorization.

For students under 13, the school provides COPPA-required consent on behalf of the parent, consistent with FTC guidance on school authorization for educational services.

We collect from students only the information necessary to provide the contracted educational service. We do not use student information for behavioral advertising or build profiles of students for non-educational purposes.

Data security practices

We employ industry-standard administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect student data, including encryption in transit and at rest, access controls based on least privilege, regular security training for staff, and ongoing monitoring for unauthorized access.

Breach notification

In the event of a security incident affecting student data, we will notify affected districts promptly per our contractual obligations and applicable law. We maintain an incident response plan that includes containment, investigation, notification, and remediation.

Questions

Districts with questions about our data handling practices, or who need to request a Data Privacy Agreement (DPA), can contact us at information@starautismsupport.com.