District IT warns Google changes will block YouTube and other services for school-issued accounts; staff plan alternatives and parent outreach

District technology staff told the board that Google will soon require individual parental consent for student use of what Google classifies as “additional services” (apps outside the Google Workspace for Education core). The district’s technology and privacy staff reported that the New York State Education Department has advised that parental consent satisfies FERPA but does not meet the protections required under New York Education Law 2-d; therefore Ed Law 2-d protections must be provided through a compliant data protection agreement.

District staff said Google has declined to place the additional services into Google’s “core services” under the district’s existing agreements. As a result, the district expects to disable student access on district-managed accounts and devices to certain Google services including YouTube, Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Translate unless those applications are covered under an Ed Law 2-d–compliant agreement.…