Opt-Out Information & Options

Garnet Valley School District (the District) recognizes that our students must be prepared to live and work in a digital world. In order to facilitate this, the District utilizes a variety of technology to provide students with tools to help them develop research, collaboration, fluency, and other technology skills. In order to provide these sorts of opportunities, the District operates a networked infrastructure that includes access to local (in-District) resources as well as Internet-based resources such as student email and online educational resources. The District has determined that access to these resources is necessary to provide the type of education that gives its students the best chance to be successful in work and life. The responsible use of these resources is outlined in the School Board Policy 815. Accounts and applications that are part of daily student use include but are not limited to:

● Garnet Valley School District’s G Suite (Google Apps for Education) Environment: This education-focused G-Suite environment is hosted by Google, and managed by the District. This collection of online applications provides students with a Google email account, calendar, and access to Google Drive, where students can create, share, and publish documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other artifacts of their learning. The District creates and manages user accounts; manages access to applications and email based on grade-level organizations and permissions. Student email In K-8 is limited to sending and receiving messages within the District Google domain. In cases where outside communication is warranted, it is tightly controlled to include only necessary outside email users or domains. Students in grades 9-12 are granted permission to send and receive emails from outside the Garnet Valley domain (e.g., job applications, college interest letters). Parents wishing to opt-out of the G Suite environment for their child can do so below.

● Online Curriculum Systems: Many recently adopted curricula (e.g., online textbooks, educational apps) are fully online or include a component of online content. In many cases, these require individual user accounts. The District creates these accounts and does not provide any information that does not conform with FERPA or other privacy directives. District teaching staff also utilize YouTube and other educational videos in their classrooms. These age-appropriate videos are restricted to teacher-approved or educational content. Other online resources where students will participate is reviewed by the District to ensure that it adheres to privacy laws and does not contain objectionable content. Additionally, all district-issued devices are filtered on and off campus through content filtering provided by Fortinet and Linewize. Parents wishing to opt-out of the online curriculum systems used in the district can do so below.

● Video Conferencing Tools: Garnet Valley uses two video conferencing tools, Zoom and Google Meet. Zoom is the primary video conferencing tool used in the district for its added security and built-in engagement tools. Google Meet is used as a backup in the event Zoom is not available. Parents wishing to opt-out of video conferencing for their child can do so below. Opting out of video conference recordings means when any web conference (school assemblies, class activities, etc) is being recorded, your child will be asked to turn off their video feed. They will still be able to participate just without their faces being shown. The live instructional recordings will be housed in Schoology and will not be shared publicly.

● Photo/Videos: Throughout the year, Garnet Valley students may be photographed and/or video recorded as they participate in routine academic, artistic, or athletic activities. The photos and/or videos may be used in school-related promotional and advertising materials disseminated to the public through newspapers, magazines, our website, social media, and other channels deemed appropriate and safe by the Garnet Valley School District. Parents wishing to opt-out of photos/videos for their child can do so below.

● Parent/Student Directory Information: Each school shares directory information, as permitted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, for various purposes, including but not limited to School Directories, post-secondary institutions, and U.S. armed forces. Parents wishing to opt-out of Parent/Student Directory Information being shared can do so below.

● Assessments: The District utilizes online assessment systems (e.g., NWEA) several times per year to assess student progress. These systems are web-based, thus requiring students to use computing devices to take the assessments. In addition, much of the state-mandated annual testing is completely online as well. Students must use District computing devices to participate. Under the Federal Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), the District is required to filter Internet access and to teach online safety. Assessment-specific opt-out information will be sent to parents as each online assessment date(s) approaches.

The District takes your child’s safety and privacy very seriously and makes every effort to supervise and monitor student technology use. Garnet Valley uses Internet filtering software to block access to content that is obscene, pornographic, and harmful to minors. We provide instruction to all students in the area of Digital Citizenship through the use of a District-approved curriculum.

Parents or guardians have the right to terminate their student’s access to one or all of the electronic tools and resources listed above by submitting the Opt-Out form below. If you do not want your child to use District technology resources, please be aware that your decision to eliminate access to these tools may significantly affect your student’s ability to work collaboratively with his or her peers on class assignments and projects, and may impact the development of skills necessary to live and work in this increasingly digital world. This Opt-Out request will remain in effect for one school year and expires at the end of this school year. A parent or guardian must complete a new Opt-Out form every school year. If no documentation is on file, it will be assumed that permission has been granted for access to the Internet, Google Apps for Education, Online Curriculum services, and other online applications and services that have been selected for use by the District, your child’s school, or your child’s teacher.

Please complete the following form to opt-out your child from any of the services above. If you are denying access for multiple students, you must complete a form for each student. Submit the form ONLY if you are choosing to opt your child out of access to these resources.