Google Workspace for Education Information for Parents and Guardians

This notice describes the personal information we provide to Google for these accounts and how Google collects, uses, and discloses personal information from students in connection with these accounts.

Using their Google Workspace for Education accounts, students may access and use some or all of the following “Core Services” offered by Google (described at https://workspace.google.com/terms/user_features.html): 

Assignments
Calendar
Classroom
Drive and Docs
Gmail
Google Chat
Google Chrome Sync
Keep
Migrate
Sites
Tasks

In addition, we also allow students to access certain other Google services with their Google Workspace for Education accounts. Specifically, your child may have access to the following “Additional Services”: 

Applied Digital Skills 
Chrome Web Store 
Colab 
Google Arts and Culture 
Google Bookmarks
Google Books 
Google Maps 
Google My Maps 
Google News 
Google Photos 
Google Translate 
Google Earth 
YouTube 

Further, we allow students to access additional third-party services with their Google Workspace for Education accounts. Our school administrator enables access to these third-party services with your student’s Google Workspace for Education account, and authorizes the disclosure of data, as requested by the third party services. The District utilizes third-party applications and extensions to enhance student learning. All vendors must meet the District’s network and data security requirements. Third-party apps/extensions used in the District include, but are not limited to, tools that support creativity, collaboration, assessment, and digital safety.  Some examples of authorized third-party apps/extensions for students may include Minecraft Education, Kami for Chrome, Securly, LockDown Browser, etc.. Please check with your school or your child's teacher with questions about apps used specifically for that class.

Google provides information about the information it collects, as well as how it uses and discloses the information it collects from Google Workspace for Education accounts in its Google Workspace for Education Privacy Notice. You can read that notice online at https://workspace.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html You should review this information in its entirety, but below are answers to some common questions:

What personal information does Google collect?

When creating a student account, South Newton School Corporation may provide Google with certain personal information about the student, including, for example, a name, email address, and password. Google may also collect personal information directly from students, such as telephone number for account recovery or a profile photo added to the Google Workspace for Education account. 
When a student uses Google core services, Google also collects information based on the use of those services. This includes:
Account information, which includes things like name and email address.

Activity while using the core services, which includes things like viewing and interacting with content, people with whom your student communicates or shares content, and other details about their usage of the services.

Settings, apps, browsers, and devices. Google collects information about your student’s settings and the apps, browsers, and devices they use to access Google services. This information includes browser and device type, settings configuration, unique identifiers, operating system, mobile network information, and application version number. Google also collects information about the interaction of your student’s apps, browsers, and Devices with Google services, including IP address, crash reports, system activity, and the date and time of a request.

Location information: Google collects information about your student’s location as determined by various technologies such as IP address and GPS.

Direct communications:. Google keeps records of communications when your student provides feedback, asks questions, or seeks technical support.

The Additional Services we allow students to access with their Google Workspace for Education accounts may also collect the following information, as described in the Google Privacy Policy:

Activity while using additional services, which includes things like terms your student searches for, videos they watch, content and ads they view and interact with, voice and audio information when they use audio features, purchase activity, and activity on third-party sites and apps that use Google services.

Apps, browsers, and devices: Google collects the information about your student’s apps, browser, and devices described above in the core services section.

Location information: Google collects info about your student’s location as determined by various technologies including: GPS, IP address, sensor data from their device, and information about things near their device, such as Wi-Fi access points, cell towers, and Bluetooth-enabled devices. The types of location data we collect depend in part on your student’s device and account settings.

How does Google use this information? 

In Google Workspace for Education Core Services, Google uses student personal information primarily to provide the core services that schools and students use, but it’s also used to maintain and improve the services; make recommendations to optimize the use of the services; provide and improve other services your student requests; provide support; protect Google’s users, customers, the public, and Google; and comply with legal obligations. See the Google Cloud Privacy Notice for more information.

In Google Additional Services, Google may use the information collected from all Additional Services to deliver, maintain, and improve our services; develop new services; provide personalized services; measure performance; communicate with schools or users; and protect Google, Google’s users, and the public. See the Google Privacy Policy for more details.

Does Google use student personal information for users in K-12 schools to target advertising?

No. There are no ads shown in Google Workspace for Education core services. Also, none of the personal information collected in the core services is used for advertising purposes.

Some additional services show ads; however, for users in primary and secondary (K12) schools, the ads will not be personalized ads, which means Google does not use information from your student’s account or past activity to target ads. However, Google may show ads based on general factors like the student’s search queries, the time of day, or the content of a page they’re reading.

Can my child share information with others using the Google Workspace for Education account?

We may allow students to access Google services such as Google Docs and Sites, which include features where users can share information with others or publicly. For example, if your student shares a photo with a friend who then makes a copy of it, or shares it again, then that photo may continue to appear in the friend’s Google Account, even if your student removes it from their Google Account. When users share information publicly, it may become accessible through search engines, including Google Search.

Will Google disclose my child’s personal information?

Google will not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google except in the following cases:

With our school: Our school administrator (and resellers who manage your or your organization’s Workspace account) will have access to your student’s information. For example, they may be able to:
View account information, activity and statistics;
Change your student’s account password;
Suspend or terminate your student’s account access;
Access your student’s account information in order to satisfy applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request;
Restrict your student’s ability to delete or edit their information or privacy settings.

With your consent: Google will share personal information outside of Google with parental consent.

For external processing: Google will share personal information with Google’s affiliates and other trusted third party providers to process it for us as Google instructs them and in compliance with the Google Privacy Policy, the Google Cloud Privacy Notice, and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

For legal reasons: Google will share personal information outside of Google if they have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary for legal reasons, including complying with enforceable governmental requests and protecting you and Google.

What choices do I have as a parent or guardian?

First, you can consent to the collection and use of your child’s information by Google. If you don’t provide your consent, we will not create a Google Workspace for Education account for your child, and Google will not collect or use your child’s information as described in this notice. 

If you consent to your child’s use of Google Workspace for Education, you can access or request deletion of your child’s Google Workspace for Education account by contacting the School Principal. If you wish to stop any further collection or use of your child's information, you can request that we use the service controls available to access personal information, limit your child’s access to features or services, or delete personal information in the services or your child’s account entirely. You and your child can also visit the My Google Account while signed in to the Google Workspace for Education account to view and manage the personal information and settings of the account.

Consent to Use Digital Instructional Tools 

Your child will have the opportunity to use a variety of digital instructional tools as part of coursework, to support learning, complete assignments, collaborate with classmates, and communicate with teachers.  Some of the digital instructional tools, or educational apps, that the District uses require parent/legal guardian's consent.  The digital instructional tools used by South Newton School Corporation that require consent are listed below: 

 

Google App Name	Description
Applied Digital Skills	Google Applied Digital Skills is a free, online curriculum designed to help individuals build practical digital skills for life and work. It uses a video-based, project-based approach, enabling learners to master fundamental digital competencies through hands-on activities using tools like Google Docs and  Sheets.
Chrome Web Store	The Google Chrome Web Store is an online marketplace where users can discover and install apps, extensions, and themes for t he Chrome web browser.
Colab	Google Colab is a free, cloud-based service that lets you write  and execute Python code in a Jupyter Notebook environment.
Google Arts and Culture	Google Arts & Culture is a platform providing access to artworks, virtual tours, and cultural artifacts from around the  world.
Google Bookmarks	Google Bookmarks lets users save and organize websites  online, accessible from any device with a Google account.
Google Books	Google Books helps users search and preview books, offering limited views of copyrighted content and links to purchase or  borrow.
Google Maps	Google Maps offers satellite views, street maps, and traffic info. Maps supports geotagging tools that can improve usability, with location sharing dependent on user settings and preferences.
Google My Maps	Google My Maps lets users create custom maps with locations and media. My Maps supports geotagging tools that can improve usability, with location sharing dependent on user settings and preferences.
Google News	Google News aggregates articles from various sources, offering  personalized and localized news feeds.
Google Photos	Google Photos is a cloud-based service for storing, organizing,  and sharing photos and videos.
Google Translate	Google Translate offers translation between 243 languages for t ext, documents, and speech.
YouTube	YouTube is a platform for uploading, watching, and sharing videos online. Only content designated as educational by Google and approved channels by South Newton Schools are viewable. While the platform does feature advertising, student exposure to these is limited.
Google Earth	Google Earth is a virtual globe that lets you explore satellite imagery, maps, terrain, and 3D buildings anywhere on Earth. Earth supports geotagging tools that can improve usability, with location sharing dependent on user settings and preferences.