First, let’s recap what Edpuzzle is.
Edpuzzle is an online learning platform targeted at teachers and educational institutions (or other organizations engaged in teaching or training). It lets students view interactive lessons -assigned by their teacher- either in class or at home.
Teachers cannot invite students to their Edpuzzle classrooms without the teacher expressly consenting to Edpuzzle’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and verifying their email address. Additionally, students use the service under the direction of their teacher and may only access Edpuzzle if their teacher has provided them with a specific class code.
This means that educational institutions and teachers are in control of their students’ personal information and must take all necessary measures to protect such information. Additionally, schools are also responsible for informing students and their parents accordingly about what data is collected, which are the purposes of collection, how data is used, and to which third parties it is disclosed.
Students of all ages can use Edpuzzle. In some cases, however, depending on the laws and regulations applicable to you, you might be required to first obtain parental consent prior to providing Edpuzzle access to student data.
What is parental consent?
Privacy laws and/or regulations often require that parents (or legal guardians) consent to or are notified prior to their child's personally identifiable information (PII) being disclosed to a third party.
In the field of edtech, this usually means - but not always - that teachers and schools must have proven parental consent before students provide any personal information to third parties like Edpuzzle.
From what age is parental consent required?
As a general rule, parental consent may apply to different age ranges depending on the applicable laws. For example:
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- United States of America (USA): Under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), parental consent is generally required for the disclosure of a student's education records until the student turns 18 years old or attends a postsecondary institution, at which point rights transfer to the student. Under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), parental consent is required for the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 by commercial online services. However, when such services are used by schools for educational purposes, the school—rather than the parent—may provide consent, under certain requirements (further explained below).
- Europe/European Economic Area (EU/EEA): Under European regulations, processing a child’s personal data based on consent is lawful only if the child is at least 16 years old, though European countries may lower this threshold to no less than 13 years old.
- United Kingdom (UK): In the UK, the age at which a child can lawfully provide consent for the processing of their personal data in relation to information society services is set at 13 years old, meaning parental consent is required for children under 13 years old in such contexts.
- Canada: parental consent for collecting and using children’s personal information is generally required under federal and provincial privacy laws when the child is under 13 years old, as they are presumed not to have the capacity to provide meaningful consent.
How does parental consent work in the field of edtech?
When it comes to parental consent, regulations in different countries have different requirements and parental consent may sometimes not be required. By way of example, please see below:
USA: In the USA, student privacy is primarily governed by two federal laws, FERPA and COPPA.
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- FERPA prohibits schools from disclosing personally identifiable information from a student's education record to a third party without written consent from the parent or eligible student. Typically, schools are exempted from obtaining parental consent under FERPA when Edpuzzle is identified as a "school official," meaning Edpuzzle is performing an institutional service or function for which the school would otherwise use its own employees.
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- COPPA: requires online service providers like Edpuzzle to obtain verifiable parental consent and provide parents with a direct notice before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from children under the age of 13, except in limited scenarios. Such a limited scenario takes place when using Edpuzzle in an educational context (i.e. using Edpuzzle for the use and benefit of the school and for no other commercial purpose). In this educational context, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allows educators, schools, and school districts (collectively “School/s” or “Educational Institution/s”) to act as the parent’s agent and consent to the collection of students’ personal information on the parent’s behalf (this is commonly referred to as “School Consent”. Additionally, you have access to Edpuzzle’s ‘COPPA Direct Notice to Educational Institutions’ in our Trust Center for further information on parental consent and direct notice as per COPPA.
UK: In the UK, parental consent may not be required as consent may not always be the lawful basis under which schools process students’ personal data -including when using edtech services. Most UK schools rely on the lawful basis of “public task”.
EU/EEA: Parental consent is not always required under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), as other lawful bases for processing personal data may apply depending on member states’ national laws that complement the GDPR. In Spain, for example, depending on the type of educational institution, the lawful basis for processing student personal data may be either compliance with a legal obligation or the performance of a task carried out in the public interest.
SCHOOLS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES HAVE DIFFERENT REGULATIONS AND APPROACHES, AND EDPUZZLE CANNOT ADVISE YOU ON COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO YOUR SCHOOL. YOU SHOULD OBTAIN ANY REQUIRED PARENTAL CONSENT IN A MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH THE LAWS OF YOUR JURISDICTION AND YOUR SCHOOL’S REGULATIONS AND POLICIES.
If required, how can you get parental consent?
Contacting your IT admin – or anyone at your school responsible for data protection – should be the very first step. If you are not part of a school or in the unlikely event that your school will not take care of parental consent, you should request it for EVERY student that you invite to Edpuzzle.
Edpuzzle provides the following templates to help schools obtain parental consent, where applicable (attached to this article). These templates are for general knowledge and informational purposes only; they do not constitute legal advice. You should consult with your IT administrator or other individuals in your school responsible for data protection or your legal department to determine how best to use the template. They can complete it with the school’s contact information and information about the services the school enables, and share it along with Edpuzzle’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
By agreeing to Edpuzzle’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy upon registering your teacher account, you acknowledge that you understand your obligations or the obligations of your educational institution to obtain parental consent, where appropriate.
What if I don't need parental consent or am exempt from obtaining it?
If you believe—or have been advised—that parental consent is not required, or that a legal exemption applies, no further action is needed regarding consent. However, you may still be subject to other privacy requirements in your jurisdiction. We strongly recommend notifying the appropriate school representatives before using Edpuzzle to ensure transparency and compliance.
Have questions about parental consent? Don’t hesitate to contact us at support@edpuzzle.com.
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN DOES NOT, AND IS NOT INTENDED TO, CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE. INSTEAD, ALL INFORMATION, CONTENT, AND MATERIALS AVAILABLE IN THIS ARTICLE ARE FOR GENERAL INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY NOT CONSTITUTE THE MOST UP-TO-DATE LEGAL (OR OTHER) INFORMATION. WE RECOMMEND YOU SEEK GUIDANCE FROM THE SCHOOL’S DESIGNATED LEGAL COUNSEL/DATA PROTECTION OFFICER IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS OR INQUIRIES REGARDING COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE PRIVACY REGULATIONS.