AUP Cloud Services is a LockerLane enterprise solution that eliminates paper from the AUP distribution, acceptance, and collection process. The first-of-its-kind customizable Cloud-based AUP management platform features exclusive age-appropriate video tutorials for students and their parents and requires policy acceptance through a verifiable e-signature. At-a-glance and detailed on-demand tracking reports reveal all completed and outstanding AUP documents.
The process by which an AUP is signed and collected is significantly cumbersome and now obsolete. Most schools opt to send the AUP document home with their students and hope it will be signed and returned. A staff member is assigned to keep track of which student brought back the signed AUP, which students lost it, or even falsified a parent’s signature. Who knows whether anyone actually read the document? In the Cloud, these processes are automated, tracked and verified. Cloud technology also eliminates the costs associated with physical infrastructure like file and e-mail servers and storage systems.
AUP Cloud Services requires just three tasks for administrators to perform:
Help with these tasks is provided in the How Do I section of this guide.
A school/district administrator populates AUP Cloud Services with directory information associated with the school/district, verified student and parent identity and parent-child relationship data that was collected and stored in the school/district SIS database during annual registration/enrollment. To ensure privacy and security, the AUP Cloud Services system will NOT accept student and parent information other than the following directory information:
| Parent/Guardian Directory Information |
Data |
| Email Address |
stored |
| Mobile Phone Number (optional) |
stored |
| Parent/Guardian Relationship (father, mother, etc.) |
stored |
| Child/Student Directory Information |
Data |
| First Name |
stored |
| Last Name |
stored/encrypted* |
| DOB (date of birth) |
stored |
| Grade level |
stored |
| Student Identification Number (SID) |
stored/encrypted* |
| School/District Information |
Data |
| School Name |
stored |
| School Level |
stored |
| Phone |
stored |
| Street Address |
stored |
| City |
stored |
| State |
stored |
| Zip |
stored |
| Country |
stored |
| County |
stored |
| District |
stored |
Personal and non-personal information imported to AUP Cloud Services may be used (i.e., passively only) to verify personal identity as well as verify parent-child relationship by matching and comparing it with personal and non-personal information provided directly by parents/guardians and students during registration on the companion ParentPermit portal. ParentPermit is their portal to access the Cloud-based documents. Please refer to the AUP Cloud Services privacy policy for more.
*Encrypted data is coded so it can NOT be read or understood.
Yes. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as (but not limited to) a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance.
FERPA REQUIRES EACH INSTITUTION TO DESIGNATE ITS “DIRECTORY” INFORMATION ITEMS.
IF THE USER’S SCHOOL OR DISTRICT HAS NOT ALREADY DESIGNATED EACH ONE OF THE ABOVE LISTED DATA ITEMS AS “DIRECTORY” INFORMATION AND AFFIRMATIVELY DISCLOSED SUCH DESIGNATION TO PARENTS/GUARDIANS, THE USER AGREES THE SCHOOL OR DISTRICT SHALL DO SO PROMPTLY.
To be most beneficial, an AUP always must be current; but most are not. The average AUP lasts at least 3 years. In an ever-changing world in which digital technologies and online behavioral trends come and go at the speed of technology upgrades, AUP Cloud Services enables districts/schools to make any updates quickly – even during the academic year – and ensures students and parents will see and acknowledge the changes, further minimizing risk to your students and to mitigate your exposure to risk and liability.
This flow chart illustrates the general AUP Cloud Services user process (there is step-by-step “How do I” information throughout this guide): District/school administrators upload AUP documents to the Cloud and contact parents. Parents and their children who attend any of the district’s schools access the documents from the companion ParentPermit portal. They each review the AUP documents and watch any video(s) assigned to them. They are then directed to agree to the terms of the AUP with an e-Signature. The signed/not signed status of each document is tracked and can be monitored in detail through the Reports feature. (More in the “How Do I” section)
AUP Cloud Services compares the verified information about the student ID, parent ID and the parent-child relationship that was submitted by the district/school administrator (i.e., from the SIS) with the information submitted by the parent (or legal guardian) at the time he/she registers on the ParentPermit portal. If the data match, the ID of the parent is verified and a unique Parent Code is generated and issued to the parent for each verified parent-child relationship, which the verified parent gives to their child to use when that child accesses ParentPermit. Therefore, every child who successfully logs onto the ParentPermit portal to sign an AUP document has been authorized to do so by their verified parent (or guardian).
There are several possibilities you may explore: First, it might be a good idea to explain that an unsigned AUP means the parent’s child will not be allowed to use the network/technology at school. Then, direct these parents to sign up for a free e-mail account at the nearest library or through their employer’s network to enable them to participate online. Second, each school in the district may want to set up a computer in the lobby of the school office to accommodate those parents. Third, don’t forget that parents can access ParentPermit through their mobile device; that is, they can access ParentPermit via their cell phone if they do not have a home computer. Fourth, if technology is absolutely not an option for some parents, consider allowing an administrator to sign for these parents/students by proxy.
Print a copy of the AUP document you’ve uploaded to the Cloud and send it home with the student (or you may even send it through the U.S. Mail). Require the parent to personally bring back the signed copy. Now, with a parent’s hand-delivered signed acknowledgement, a proxy – an administrator – may then click the AUP agreement. The report displays the proxy’s name as signing for that parent/student. What’s more, you don’t need to save and store the paper copy.
LockerLane commissioned i-SAFE to create these best practices AUP documents because i-SAFE has been such a valuable service to the education community for more than a decade, providing e-Safety curriculum and CIPA/E-Rate compliance programming. Through this experience, i-SAFE learned the specific needs of districts/schools in order to successfully launch Acceptable Use Policies. The solution is a set of age-appropriate AUP documents for students and parents that clearly and concisely integrate the presentation of best practices concerning ICT use on campus with the definition of inappropriate content, conduct and contact.
LockerLane also commissioned i-SAFE’s in-house video production team to create the videos. The content is based on extensive research and i-SAFE staff’s e-Safety expertise.
Only if you (i.e., district/school administrators) make it a requirement. The age-appropriate video tutorials are helpful for students and parents to better understand important e-Safety concepts before accessing the Internet through the school equipment and network. However, the decision to require students to watch the videos is left up to district/school administrators.
i-SAFE’s curriculum and education resources are offered in an AUP subscription bundle for a cost effective and efficient compliance enterprise solution. AUP Cloud Services bundled with either i-SAFE’s GOLD Plus or E-Rate Plus package provide districts/schools a comprehensive program to implement and manage their e-Safety education policy, reduce risk on campus and satisfy CIPA/E-Rate compliance requirements.
AUP Cloud Services with GOLD Plus/E-Rate Plus is a Cloud-based, easy-to-use package that gives all of your district’s schools access to hands-free AUP document creation and paper-free distribution, an impressive textbook-free library of CIPA/E-Rate related curriculum, and precise worry-free reporting and analytic technologies to assure productive implementation of a district-wide Internet safety policy that enables real-time monitoring of progress and documentation of compliance. And, there’s more for these premium subscribers – Blue Ribbon Customer Service.
Blue Ribbon Customer Service is our promise of personal assistance to district administrators, if they need guidance implementing any aspect of this comprehensive program. Administrators can rest assured they can contact us with questions about anything from implementation strategy to an error message while uploading directory information, and they will get a timely and helpful response.
Blue Ribbon Customer Service includes:
- Student Information Management – Assistance formatting and uploading student data to AUP Cloud Services.
- Teacher Information Management – Assistance onboarding educators to access and teach curriculum – formatting and uploading educator data; updating teacher list.
- Webinar – Informative introduction to the educational and technological features available at your subscription level and how to best utilize them.
- Implementation Strategy – Help to customize a strategy to successfully accomplish district goals/compliance.
- Campaign Management – Interpretation of tracking reports and analytics to help districts accomplish their goals/compliance.
- Customer Service Requests – Customer service ready to reply to administrator and educator requests (technology management, passwords, etc.)
You cannot upload other videos at this time.
Yes, as an AUP Cloud Services subscriber you have permission to transcribe portions of the i-SAFE-authored AUP that you want to include as part of the district/school’s AUP. Be advised, once the text is outside the context of the existing AUP document, LockerLane cannot warrant its accuracy. Remember, the final version uploaded on AUP Cloud Services must be a PDF file.
No. An AUP document is distributed by grade level. Therefore, every student in the designated grade who appears in your directory is enabled to access the AUP document through the ParentPermit portal.
NOTE: Your signed/not signed AUP Tracker reports can be viewed individually by school. See more in the HOW DO I section.
THE AUP CLOUD SERVICES SUBSCRIPTION POINT OF CONTACT DESIGNATES ADMINISTRATORS AND ONLY THOSE ADMINISTRATORS DESIGNATED BY THE POINT OF CONTACT MAY USE THE FEATURES OF AUP CLOUD SERVICES. Each subscription can accommodate up to six (6) administrators, as follows: Three (3) Main Administrators (including the Point of Contact) who can access AUP Cloud Services and three (3) Accounting Administrators who are authorized to view account information and renew a subscription.
A Main Administrator must have school/district clearance to access the School Information System (SIS) for the purpose of uploading the information to the AUP Cloud Services Directory and affirm or certify the following:
“I/We affirm or certify our school/district verifies parent/guardian identities and parent-child relationships at the time parents/guardians register their children as students in our school/district; and, furthermore, the parent and student data provided in this submission is designated and limited to Directory Information derived from our database of information.”
To designate an administrator, click the Admin Central icon (or navigate to: www.isafe.org/admin). Now, at the Admin Central dashboard, select the ADMINS tab. Then, click “Add” from the Actions menu. A running count of available administrators is displayed. You also will see a listing of current administrators assigned to your subscription, their contact information and their administrative role.
To cancel an existing administrator’s duties, select the administrator from the list and click Revoke.
Attention: AUP Cloud Services AND i-SAFE Curriculum Subscribers
DISTRICTS/SCHOOLS WITH BOTH i-SAFE CURRICULUM AND AUP CLOUD SERVICES SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE LIMITED TO A TOTAL OF SIX (6) ADMINISTRATORS TO MANAGE BOTH SUBSCRIPTIONS: THREE (3) MAIN AND THREE (3) ACCOUNTING.
Main Administrator(s) and Point of Contact (POC). The POC assigns/designates individuals as Main Administrators. The POC should assign/designate only those persons with whom they are comfortable delegating the same responsibility for implementing, monitoring and managing the subscription their district/school purchased. The POC can add/delete administrators (Main and Accounting) and also assign/designate a new/replacement Point of Contact for the subscription. Most importantly, all Main Administrators are responsible for guaranteeing the accuracy and integrity of the information submitted to AUP Cloud Services regarding the district schools that are implementing AUP Cloud Services and/or i-SAFE curriculum as well as the accurate onboarding of teachers authorized to access i-SAFE lessons and curriculum materials and view detailed compliance reporting.
Accounting Administrator(s). Managing the financial aspects of your AUP Cloud Services and/or i-SAFE subscription may be a task the POC wants to delegate to person the POC designates as an Accounting Administrator. The designated Accounting Administrator is empowered to view invoice information for the district’s schools and to renew your subscription. As with Main Administrators, it is your (the POC’s) option to designate up to three (3) Accounting Administrators.
The first page an AUP Cloud Services POC and/or Main Administrator sees upon successful login is the AUP page. This page serves two very important purposes: 1) it is where AUP documents are uploaded to the Cloud for distribution, and 2) it is where all of the uploaded AUP documents are stored and made available for review after being uploaded. Each AUP can be activated (i.e., made viewable to students/parents) or de-activated (i.e., not viewable) by a simple toggle of an on/off switch.
To upload an AUP document to the Cloud, click the NEW AUP button at the right side of the screen. i-SAFE has provided best practices AUP documents for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. In addition, i-SAFE has provided an AUP document that specifically addresses issues associated with students who are allowed to bring their own digital devices (BYOD) to connect to the existing campus network, as well as an AUP best suited for these students’ parents to read and acknowledge.
Choose from the list of i-SAFE best practices AUP documents provided in a document library – OR – click Get PDF (positioned in this window at the top of the list of documents) if your district/school has composed an AUP document that you prefer to upload and distribute.
Either way, the uploading procedure is similar:
To upload and publish a district/school-authored AUP:
Click on ADD AUP and Continue. Follow the on-screen prompts. In just 4-steps AUP Cloud Services is able to locate and upload the desired AUP document, provided that it has been saved as a PDF file on your local drive, then guide administrators to complete the uploading of the document to the Cloud for distribution. The completed AUP document is now stored and listed first in your library of AUP documents (this setting can be changed). Toggle the on/off switch to the on position before alerting parents/students the AUP document is available to read, sign and return.
NOTE: If you are a Main Administrator who opts to upload and distribute self-authored AUPs, ALWAYS BE AWARE that self-authored AUPs are limited in both the number of pages per AUP document and the number of new AUP documents that can be uploaded during each academic year:
- Number of text pages per document limit = 100 (standard 8.5” x 11” page).
- Attaching videos to an AUP document will lengthen its contents, but is excluded from the page number count.
- Number of new AUP documents uploaded is limited to 15 per academic year.
In practical terms, these limits allow AUP Cloud Services subscribers enough space to create, for example, one AUP document specific to each grade level in grades K-12, separate AUP documents for BYOD conditions (i.e., one for students and one for parents), and one additional AUP document.
Another Option:
Click on one of the pre-authored best practices AUP documents (from the i-SAFE document library) and Continue. The document you selected is now listed in your library of AUP documents. If you wish to modify the document in any way – including adding videos to the AUP and re-naming it – click the Modify button at the right side of the screen. Remember to save your changes and toggle the on/off switch to the on position before alerting parents/students.
NOTE: There is NO limit to the number of pre-authored (by i-SAFE) AUP documents a district/school Main Administrator is allowed to upload and distribute via AUP Cloud Services. While the Main Administrator may upload as many as desired, they can be uploaded only one at a time.
Distribute. If you elected to upload your directory before uploading the AUP document, you are ready to distribute the document to students and their parents. If you have not yet uploaded your directory, click here
Alert your students’ parents/guardians – using your normal contact method(s) such as email, Web page, etc. – that an AUP document is available for review and signature in the Cloud. Direct parents to go to ParentPermit (www.parentpermit.com), where parents and their child(ren) access, read, sign and return the AUP document.
Sample alert letter to parents:
Dear [Parent],
It is my pleasure to inform you that [The District] is deploying a new, online system for parents and their children to read and sign and return AUP documents. It’s streamlined – fast and efficient -- and it assures your child’s privacy. In addition, this Cloud-based technology allows the presentation of brief videos to help you and your child further understand key e-Safety concepts.
Please navigate to [www.parentpermit.com] and register. There’s an AUP document awaiting NOW for your review, e-signature and return. Upon successful registration, you will be presented a unique and secure Parent Code. The Parent Code is a security measure necessary for your child to register and access the AUP materials and return a signed acknowledgement. There is a unique Parent Code for each of your children, which you must give them to use. Registering takes just a few moments. If you need assistance, please click on the links for a step-by-step video tutorial:
ParentPermit Parent registration: http://vimeo.com/isafevideos/review/102884404/2236b67e43
ParentPermit Child registration: http://vimeo.com/isafevideos/review/102884515/2a532d907f
After you and your child have read and agreed to the terms of the AUP, click Submit. That’s all, you’re done. No paper! A record of the “signed” AUP is displayed on your ParentPermit page. However, until the AUP document is submitted, your child will not be authorized to use [The District] information technologies on campus.
Thank you,
Navigate to the AUP page. Identify the document you want to modify from your library of AUP documents – they are listed in descending order by date of creation. Click the Modify button and you are presented with three options:
- Preview – Your uploaded AUP document as it appears in the Cloud;
- Edit – Options to modify your uploaded AUP document;
- Delete – Removes the document. The document must be toggled to the off position to delete a document. NOTE: The delete function is removed upon receipt of the first parent or student signature.
Select Edit. A screen appears that displays the content and distribution elements of your AUP document that may be edited: Title, Target, Grades are on one side of the window and Videos are on the other side. Click the Edit button and follow the prompt. When all changes have been made, click Done. Click Preview to view the updated document.
NOTE: When adding a video to your AUP document, recognize the grade range for which it is intended. A video produced for older students (i.e., grades 7-12) or designated for parents WILL be added to an AUP document even if the AUP document has been targeted for a younger age group (i.e., grades 3-5). The reasoning behind this availability function is that you know best the aptitude and skill level of your students. However, a disclaimer message appears alerting Main Administrators the video may not be appropriate for students in the grade level for which the AUP has been designated.
BOTTOM LINE: AUP Cloud Services has been built with the agility to target each AUP document as district/schools deem appropriate. Main Administrators can target each AUP document to Students, Guardians or both (using the Edit feature detailed above). What’s more, the simplicity of the AUP creation/upload/distribution process enables Main Administrators to simply customize a document for their students and a different document for parents. In other words, add the age-appropriate videos for the grade K-4 students (e.g., Dot&i) to see and distribute the same document with the addition of parent-designated videos for Guardians.
IMPORTANT NOTE: A document uploaded to AUP Cloud Services can be modified at any time PRIOR to the first student/parent e-signature. Understand, the first returned parent or student signature locks the document. If you want to replace the document, you can no longer delete it. Instead, switch the toggle to the off position making it unavailable to other students or parents/guardians. This will take the document out of service, yet it will still show up in the AUP Tracker Reports.
AUP Cloud Services is programmed for you to view all AUP documents posted in the Cloud during the current school year – NOT the term of your district/school subscription. However, you can customize the date range setting to detail a time period from your current subscription term or previous subscription terms by adjusting the time period.
Changing a designated time period is a modification you can make from any AUP Cloud Services screen:
First, click the date range indicator at the top of the screen. The default date range is the current academic year (365 days beginning August 15). Let’s first discuss modifying the date range:
Reset Year: Upon clicking the date range indicator, a menu will slide onto the screen. The menu lists all school years dating back to the year covered by the district’s first AUP Cloud Services subscription. Select the desired year.
Customize Date Range: If you’d like to “zoom in” to monitor the status of AUP documents from a specific time period, select the Edit All button. Clicking the Edit All button launches a new action box. Select the Edit button and, using the interactive calendar, set a start and end date. When customizing a time period, remember that the calendar begins August 15 of the current school year and ends August 14 (NOT TODAY’S DATE); that means, in the current example of zooming in on a specific time period, move the calendar forward for your start date and the calendar backward for the end date. Customize any time period, as long as the start date is a day/year before the end date.
Finally, click the Save button to save your change. The date range change takes effect immediately.
Because the data resets August 15th of each year, a new directory must be uploaded yearly as well. However, it’s always a good idea to keep the directory in the Cloud as a snapshot for future reference.
Either before or after uploading an AUP document to AUP Cloud Services, it is necessary to populate a CSV file (required file format) with verified student, parent (guardian) and school directory information, which will then be uploaded to your AUP Cloud Services Directory. The easiest way to accomplish this is to export the data from the School Information System (SIS). The data fields to export from the SIS to populate the CSV file are:
| Parent/Guardian Directory Information |
Child/Student Directory Information |
School/District Information |
| E-Mail Address |
First Name |
School Name |
| Mobile Phone Number (optional) |
Last Name |
School Level |
| Parent/Guardian Relationship (father, mother, etc.) |
DOB (date of birth) |
Phone |
|
Grade level |
Street Address |
|
Student Identification Number (SID) |
City |
|
|
State |
|
|
Zip |
|
|
Country |
|
|
County |
|
|
District |
Save the CSV file on a local drive. The CSV file needs to be uploaded only one time. The data in the file will populate all three AUP Cloud Services screens: Students, Guardians and Schools.
Navigate to the Directory page by selecting the Directory navigation icon at the top of any AUP Cloud Services screen.
Click the Upload Directory button. Browse and select the CSV file to upload to AUP Cloud Services and click Import. Informational screens appear during the import processes that confirm the data has been successfully read, verified and uploaded. Upload times may vary based on several factors, including the size of the CSV file and broadband speed. It’s not uncommon for a large file (approaching 300MB) to take between 5 and 10 minutes to import successfully. In the event any of your directory information is imported BEFORE any error occurs, the imported data is stored in a temp folder that is expunged – DAILY. Data stored in the temp folder is expunged IMMEDIATELY upon successful import.
File size limit = 300MB. AUP Cloud Services will not import directory data in a CSV file larger than 300MB (approximately 1 million records). An attempt to upload a file that exceeds the limit will result in an unsuccessful upload and an error message.
Be sure to complete all required fields for Student, Guardian and School. There can be more than one guardian assigned to each student (displayed as Guardian 1, Guardian 2, Guardian 3). All data fields for each student, guardian, school/district MUST be completed. Missing information will cause an error and the data import WILL FAIL. Click the “Download Sample” button and refer to the spreadsheet as a guide for completing your data file. Or, save the sample spreadsheet as a template and transfer the SIS data to it, save the file, and import.
Import Failure. In the event an error occurs, double check the spreadsheet for empty cells/missing data. All fields must be completed. Also check e-mail syntax (ex: 123@xyz.com) and other formatting issues (i.e., data duplication, etc.). If you need assistance uploading your directory information, click the Assisted Uploads tab on the Directory page for secure options to transfer the CSV file containing directory information to i-SAFE for diagnostics and manual upload. To maintain the integrity of the data and for the protection of students’ and their guardians’ personal information, DO NOT attach the CSV file to an e-mail and send student information through an e-mail service and DO NOT print out the information on your spreadsheet and send it through the U.S. Mail.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In the Assisted Uploads procedure, customer service receives the native file containing your directory information and may alter records for the SOLE PURPOSE of formatting data to assure compatibility with the data entry process. The modified file is uploaded while the native file is stored in a temp folder for 30 days, then expunged.
Make any additions/deletions/corrections to your original CSV file. Then, upload the entire new CSV file – NOT just the additions/deletions/corrections. AUP Cloud Services will make the necessary modifications to your directory and display a summary screen indicating the changes made for your review and approval. Further informational screens appear during the file import processes that confirm the new data has been successfully read, verified and uploaded.
Remember: The search function looks up directory information only. That means search parameters are confined to the a student’s first name but only their last initial, the last 4 digits of their Student ID number, date of birth, etc.
At any moment, on demand, administrators can check the signing status of each AUP document made available in the Cloud to students and/or parents.
For an at-a-glance tally (number), navigate to the AUP page. Each AUP document listed displays an ongoing count. This thumbnail information is updated with every page visit and page refresh.
More details for Main Administrators about the status of their AUP documents are available by clicking the Reports icon at the top of the page. The AUP Tracker Report Selector window enables administrators to view and/or download a raw count of how many documents have been signed/not signed (summary report). And, click on one of the detailed reports to view and/or download reports identifying who has signed and the date signed; and, another report lists those who have not yet acknowledged the AUP document with an e-signature. This is information administrators can use to more effectively manage who has access to campus ICT, thereby limiting both risk and district/school liability.
Note: Don’t be alarmed if a detailed report indicates there are more students than the number enrolled. This is due to the fact that each parent (guardian) can sign each of the documents resulting in multiple entries shown in the report.
Filters: The filters appear in a popup window when accessing the detailed reports. The filters allow Main Administrators to choose among the user reports to pinpoint the current status of each document: Click on a filter to choose the desired document, to target a group (students or parents/guardians) or to check on the signing status at an individual school.
You may want to print out a copy of the detailed Tracker Report and save it each school year as a back-up record of the district/school’s AUP document compliance.
ParentPermit (www.parentpermit.com) is an online technology platform for document distribution and management as well as permission and signature collection for all school and school district related actions requiring verified parent or verified student permission, acknowledgement, agreement, digital signature, etc.
Parents and students may create an account on ParentPermit in order to use the website to submit a verified permission or a verified acknowledgement or a verified agreement or a digital signature.
ParentPermit is linked to each child’s school through the school’s or district’s subscription to AUP Cloud Services. Each school year – typically during registration/enrollment but also at any time determined appropriate – schools and districts with AUP Cloud Service accounts, will ask parents and students to go to LockerLane’s ParentPermit website (www.parentpermit.com) in order to access-read-sign-return the school’s or the school district’s AUP (Acceptable Use Policy).
The AUP explains the school’s or district’s technology available to its students and lays out specific guidelines about how the equipment and networks are to be responsibly used (and the penalties for misuse).
Parents and students go to www.parentpermit.com, create a user account, access and read the AUP, view AUP related videos (if any), and then submit an online verified acknowledgement that they have read and understand the AUP and agree to comply with it.
Any AUP not read, signed and returned disqualifies the student from accessing the school Internet or Web-connected devices. Therefore, it is essential that a parent be front-and-center in this process to keep track of these documents and eliminate the occurrence of fraud (student failing to read the document or signing the AUP as a parent). ParentPermit does that, and more. Bottom line: When parents and students sign an AUP through ParentPermit, the school is certain the signed documents are authentic because the parent’s and student’s identity and their parent-child (guardian-child) relationship are verified.
At the time parents register on the ParentPermit website, information provided by the parent is instantaneously matched with directory information provided by their child’s school each year during enrollment. When the parent’s registration is verified and complete, ParentPermit issues a Parent Code to the parent to give to their child, which binds the individual child to his/her parent(s) from whom the child physically received the Parent Code. The Parent Code authenticates the parent/child relationship because the ONLY WAY a student can use ParentPermit to access, read, sign and return an AUP document from the school is to use/enter the Parent Code the child physically received from a parent the child’s school/district knows (verified) is in fact the parent of the child.
Two important things to note: First, there’s a different (unique) Parent Code for each school-aged child the parent has (i.e., in the same school or district) because each Parent Code binds the parent-child relationship with only one child; and second, it is important for parents to keep all Parent Codes handy and secure, since they will need to use Parent Codes for future school or Web requests.
The information collected about a child is limited to data used only to verify him/her as the student who attends a specific school AND is the child of the parent registered on ParentPermit. That is accomplished by matching data provided by the school (via AUP Cloud Services).
A child younger than age of 13 who is registering on ParentPermit cannot provide personally identifiable information; he/she can only provide limited NON-PERSONAL INFORMATION:
- Parent Code (non-personal)
- Date of Birth (non-personal)
If the date of birth entered by the child while registering on ParentPermit indicates the child is 13 years or older, he/she can only provide the following limited personal and non-personal information:
- E-mail Address (personal)
- Password (non-personal)
- Responses to Security Questions (non-personal)
Please read the ParentPermit privacy policy for more details.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a law passed by Congress and now enforced by the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) that prohibits the collection, use and disclosure of “personally identifiable information” from children younger than age13 before obtaining “verifiable parental consent” from the child’s parent. Therefore, when registering on ParentPermit, personal information is NEVER collected from students younger than age of 13.
The child’s school or district has subscribed to AUP Cloud Services. AUP Cloud Services is a platform used by the school or district to facilitate the publishing and distribution of their AUP documents. This chart illustrates the link between AUP Cloud Services and ParentPermit:
Since both platforms are in the cloud, AUP Cloud Services and ParentPermit virtually “talk” to each other. On the administrator’s side, a grade-specific AUP document is uploaded. Any videos are attached and the resulting AUP is stored in the cloud. When there is a new document to sign, parents are contacted by school administrators in the normal way, such as e-mail or, less likely, through a post on the website. The parent and child then access, read, sign the AUP document with an electronic signature, and return it using the ParentPermit website. The signed AUP documents are displayed on the parent’s and student’s ParentPermit dashboards and also are reported and recorded to the district/school (i.e., on the administrator’s AUP Cloud Services dashboard) as signed.
First, it is important to understand the importance of returning a signed AUP document, electronically or in person. An unsigned AUP means your child will not be allowed to use the network/technology at school. To enable parents to participate online, it may be worthwhile for all parents without Internet access at home to sign up for a free e-mail account at the nearest library or through their employer’s network. Also, all parents should know that ParentPermit is accessible through mobile devices, so a home computer is not needed to read and sign and return AUP documents as long as parents use a smartphone.
If there is no other option, we have advised the school/district to print a copy of the AUP document it has prepared (and uploaded it to the Cloud) and send it home with the student (or send it through the U.S. Mail). However, it will be necessary for the parent to physically bring the signed copy to school in person to confirm the document was signed by the person who in fact is the parent of the child/student. A Main Administrator may then electronically sign the document for a parent as a proxy.
ParentPermit (www.parentpermit.com) also is an online parent identity and parent-child relationship verification platform that parents may use to give and transmit verified parental consent (VPC) to mobile/website operators, a process that must be accomplished in accordance with COPPA (the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) federal law:
Mobile/website operators are required by COPPA (and the FTC Rule enforcing COPPA) to request and obtain verifiable parental consent (VPC) from parents of children younger than age 13 before the operators lawfully are allowed to collect personally identifiable information (“PII”) from children younger than age 13 and let those children use their mobile applications or Internet websites. Mobile/website operators engage and use the ParentPermit website for the purpose of verifying the identity AND the parent-child relationship of parents from whom they seek a parent’s VPC (consent) because the parent’s child desires to access and use the operator’s mobile application or website.
Parents – not students – may use the ParentPermitPLUS feature on their ParentPermit account to give and transmit their verified parental consent (VPC) to allow their children who are younger than age 13 to use those certain mobile applications or Internet websites which the parent approves and has been made aware of the respective mobile/website operator’s privacy policy regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personally identifiable information (“PII”).
ParentPermitPLUS not only streamlines the processes but ParentPermitPLUS allows parents to keep track of all websites/mobile apps to which they have given their permission/consent for their child(ren) to access and use.
Because the Parent Code received when registering on ParentPermit represents the verified identity of the parent and also binds each child’s relationship to his or her parents, any mobile/website operator that asks for and receives Parent Code information during the consent process may accurately conclude the individual giving consent is in fact the parent of the child who wants to register on and use the operators website or mobile application.
It’s important to mobile/website operators because the FTC imposes hefty fines (into the millions of dollars) if they are caught collecting personally identifiable information from children younger than age 13 without first obtaining verified parental consent. Therefore, mobile/website operators need to be absolutely confident that the person giving consent is in fact the parent of the child. ParentPermitPLUS gives them that confidence.
Using the ParentPermitPLUS feature on their ParentPermit account, parents may easily and instantly verify their identity and parent-child relationship an infinite number of times without having to repeatedly give numerous mobile/website operators seeking VPC the same verifying personal information (e.g., disclosing the last four digits of their social security number), or repeatedly charging a credit card, or repeatedly sending letters/e-mails, or repeatedly appearing in videos, etc. to prove their identity and their parent-child relationship. ParentPermitPLUS also gives parents the ability to keep track of the websites and mobile applications they have allowed their young children to access and use. Both websites and mobile apps are displayed in the ParentPermit dashboard for parents to monitor. THIS IS CRITICAL: Students may need to download apps used in and for school; but; because of COPPA, they are unable to register for them at home without verifiable parental consent. That process now has been made easy and convenient through ParentPermitPLUS.
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